


Rewriting History

by creativewoman88



Series: The History Chronicles [1]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, I suck at smut, Rating is t for now, Slow Build, but it is damon and he is a vampire, depends on my mood, may go up later, sex stuff may come into it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-01-28 01:04:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 107,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12594580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creativewoman88/pseuds/creativewoman88
Summary: Damon/OFC. What if Vampire Slayers actually existed? What if she was a seventeen year old girl, who was friends with Elena and company? Follows the events of vampire diaries, though I go slightly off canon with events to fit my story line.This has the mythology behind Buffy, but none of the characters are in it.





	1. Chapter One

Rebecca Stone stood in front of the full-length mirror in her room. She wasn't vain, but it was the first day of school after a long hard summer; she wanted to look good for herself and she wanted to make everyone think she was okay. She and her dad had been fighting again. That was par for the course for them, had been for the last eight months. It had gotten worse over the summer.

Eight months ago, Rebecca's mother had died giving birth to Chelsea Marie Stone, Rebecca's eight-month-old sister. Robert, Rebecca's father, had had a breakdown after that. He'd never been the most attentive father to begin with, but with Chelsea it was worse. It was like he blamed the little girl for his wife's death and Rebecca hated him a little for that. She did everything she could to make sure Chelsea got all the attention her dad wasn't willing to give her.

Rebecca's mother had been a free spirit when she'd been alive and she'd given Rebecca all the space she'd needed to become an independent little woman - her mother had always called her 'little woman' instead of 'young lady'. As long as Rebecca hadn't gotten in trouble her mother hadn't cared what she'd done. Rebecca usually had good judgment. Robert had been sterner, always, and instead of meeting in the middle, he had always wanted things his way. It had grated on Rebecca's nerves. And it had been an arguing point between Robert and his wife their whole marriage.

Rebecca had stayed out of it for the most part. She hadn't wanted to put herself in the middle of it and have to choose sides. She hadn't wanted to have to be the referee either.

Then her mother had gotten pregnant and Robert had done a 180. He'd become nicer, he'd been excited about the baby. Rebecca had been . . . a little reluctant to be happy about a new baby. She'd barely turned seventeen when she'd found out her mother was pregnant and she hadn't wanted to be rude, but she'd had a feeling she'd be the one who would end up taking care of it. Now, looking back, she'd happily have offered to take care of the baby as long as her mom would've made it through the labor.

Honestly . . . Rebecca had resented her sister too when the doctor had told her that her mom hadn't survived. That had all changed when she'd seen her sister there wrapped in a pink blanket, all small and defenseless, and Rebecca had known she needed to take care of her, raise her as if she were her own. It wasn't until after Chelsea was born that Rebecca had learned that her mother had had other pregnancies before but she'd always miscarried; for her to have carried Chelsea full term . . . It had put a strain on her body and her mother had been well aware that that had been a risk, but, like any good mother would have, she chose to risk her life so her daughter could live.

Robert hadn't even come to see Chelsea at the nursery in the hospital; Rebecca had stayed there. That was when resentment had begun to build. Robert had begun to drink and had become pretty much unresponsive to anything; nothing had seemed to touch him anymore. Then arguments began. Small things at first because Rebecca hadn't wanted to just blurt out that he was being stupid and he shouldn't blame Chelsea because his wife had made her choice. But eventually she did say that and he gave her the silent treatment for a whole day after that.

Rebecca had tried to get him to take care of Chelsea a few times by leaving them together alone, but when she'd returned home Chelsea wouldn't have been fed or changed; she'd been practically ignored. That caused an argument too. Chelsea was a baby, she couldn't take care of herself and Robert hadn't even tried.

Things had escalated a few weeks ago. Robert had worked for some construction company outside of town, but he'd quit. Rebecca had acted like a wife and not a daughter and had told him how stupid he'd been by doing that; how were they going to pay the bills because she couldn't work. She had to go to school and take care of Chelsea. He'd told her he worked for the Founder's Council now, which was a group of the founding families of Mystic Falls, Virginia. He was also a part-time alcoholic now. He had changed, too, he'd become more strict with her. The older she was getting, the more rules he gave her.

It was an argument waiting to happen; she despised being told what to do.

Rebecca didn't understand him, or maybe she didn't want to understand him. He had serious emotional problems and he needed help. She didn't get why he was so stern with her, anyway. She hardly ever did anything bad and when she did it didn't hurt anyone, so . . . she didn't get what the big deal was.

Rebecca was more like her mother had been, only not as extreme. Rebecca was a senior at Mystic Falls High School; it was a normal enough high school for a small town. You had your jocks, your cheerleaders, your stoners, and your loners. . . Yep, fully functional high school. Rebecca didn't know where exactly she fit in. She didn't really have a clique; she got along with everyone. For the most part, with a few exceptions. But most everyone loved her.

Rebecca was about 5'5" with long honey-blond hair. The wavy but not bushy locks came down to her waist. Sometimes she had problems with it, but she would never cut it off. She liked it too much. She had a cherub-like face. Her eyes were light green and people always complimented them. She had a straight nose that led down to a perfectly full mouth. Her teeth were white and straight, if not perfect. But who needed perfection? Perfection was boring.

Her body was full-figured, shaped like an hourglass. She didn't have to work too hard for it; she was almost always on the move anyway. She didn't weigh that much, but she still had to wear a size 12 in jeans because of her damnable hips, the only semi-large thing on her body.

"Rebecca, Bonnie's here!" her dad's voice carried to her room. They lived in a one story house, so Rebecca could hear him fine.

"Coming!" Rebecca took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was show time.  
\-----  
Outside, Rebecca hopped into Bonnie's white car. Elena was already there.

Bonnie Bennett had perfect caramel-colored skin - sometimes Rebecca was envious, but not in a bad way; she just thought the girl's skin was gorgeous. Bonnie had hazel green eyes and a pretty smile. She was nice and a good friend.

Elena Gilbert had olive skin, chocolate brown eyes and matching hair. Her eyes used to be so full of life; now they weren't. Elena had had it hard that summer, too. Her parents had driven off a bridge with her in the backseat. She'd made it; they hadn't. She had survivor's guilt and she thought it was her fault they were dead. She'd skipped out on Family Night and when they'd picked her up . . . that had happened.

Rebecca squeezed Elena's shoulder as she got in the backseat. Silent support, that was Rebecca's forte. She did not do the verbal support thing. She was not good at it.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie said as she drove away from Rebecca's house.

Rebecca listened but also looked back in worry. Hopefully Robert wouldn't just ignore Chelsea while Rebecca was away. He only had to spend a little time with her; Carol Lockwood was going to pick her up in about an hour. Carol was not Rebecca's most favorite person in the world, but she tolerated the woman. Jessica Stone, Rebecca's mom, had worked with her a lot when she was alive, and Carol had nothing to do all day, so. . .

"I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like 'Put this woman in a home already.' But I started thinking, I predicted Obama, and I predicted Heath Ledger. And I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

Talk about somebody going on and on about it, Rebecca thought fondly.

That was the joy of being with Bonnie and Elena. All three of them could be completely up front with each other. They'd known each other since they'd been in diapers.

"Elena! Back in the car," Bonnie teased.

They'd been driving past the cemetery where Elena's parents had been buried and again Rebecca squeezed Elena's shoulder. Elena wasn't alone and she needed to know that.

"I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry, Bonnie, you were telling me that. . ."

"That I'm psychic now," Bonnie finished.

"Right. Okay, then predict something about me," Elena requested semi-playfully.

"Hey, don't make fun. There are actual psychics out there," Rebecca said. "Excluding Miss Cleo and all the other phone line ones."

Before either girl could respond, Bonnie was slamming on the brakes because a big black thing had hit the windshield. Then the car came to a screeching halt.

"What was that?" Bonnie freaked.

"God, who taught you how to drive, Bonnie?" Rebecca half-teased. Her heart was pitter-pattering all over the place. Her breathing was shallow, but she made herself breathe deeply and then, as a safety measure, she snapped her seatbelt shut. Better late than never.

"Oh, my God, Elena, are you okay?"

Right. Elena had even more reason to be freaked out by the almost accident then she and Bonnie did. Rebecca felt a small jolt of guilt for not thinking of that before.

"It's okay. I'm fine."

"It was a bird or something. It came out of nowhere," Bonnie said.

Poor bird, Rebecca thought. Hopefully it had died on impact and wasn't off suffering somewhere.

"Really. I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life."

Bonnie gave a small smile. "I predict this year is going to be kick-ass. I predict that all the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy."

Elena smiled for Bonnie's sake and then they were off.

At school they ran into Matt Donovan, Elena's ex. He was sweet; he hadn't done anything to cause the breakup. Elena had just been going through a rough time. Matt was that nice guy-next-door type of person. Honest, open, sincere. Then Elena had dumped him and he'd been hurt. Which royally sucked because Elena and Matt had been friends since the sandbox age.

Rebecca got along with Matt okay. He never pushed himself on her; they didn't see each other that way. She could spend time with him and feel no pressure. He was still a good friend, very protective, watched out for the people he cared about. He had it hard, Matt did. His mom was never around, he didn't know his dad, and his sister was a drug addict.

Then there was Caroline Forbes. Stereotypical cheerleader and Rebecca hated stereotyping people but there it was. Yup. Caroline was also one of the few people in the history of people that Rebecca had to force herself to get along with. She could only stand Caroline in small doses. She might go crazy if she had to put up with Caroline all the time.

"Oh, my God. Elena, how are you? Oh, it's so good to see you."

Caroline meant well, Rebecca knew that, but Caroline lacked a thing called tact. It wasn't her fault, she just didn't get it. Also sometimes she could be a little too peppy for Rebecca.

"How is she? Is she good?" Caroline asked Bonnie and Rebecca.

"Caroline, I'm right here. And I'm fine, thank you."

"Really?"

"Yes, much better."

If Elena was fine and feeling better, then how come her response sounded like a well-rehearsed line?

"Aw, you poor thing." Caroline pulled Elena in for a hug.

"It's okay, Caroline." Elena seemed to be reaching her Caroline quota, too.

"Okay, see you guys later?"

"Okay, bye."

Elena tried to be perky when she waved. Then when Caroline was out of earshot Rebecca, Elena and Bonnie giggled.

"No comment," Elena said. "I'm not even gonna say anything."

They weren't making fun of Caroline. They weren't. But some of Caroline's actions just pulled that response from them.

As they passed by the main office Bonnie stopped them, which was good because Rebecca suddenly got a weird feeling that made her stop mid-step anyway. What the hell? It was almost like that weird feeling one gets when they feel they're being watched, that hair-raising spooked feeling. It faded away slowly, but she still wondered what the feeling had been about.

"Hold up, who's this?"

"All I see is back," Elena said.

Bonnie had been looking at a boy who was in the main office talking to the woman behind the desk.

"It's a nice back."

Rebecca just rolled her eyes and smiled fondly at the two.

"That's my cue to leave. Boy talk so isn't for me. I'll see you guys at lunch."

Rebecca was a year ahead of the other two and that sadly meant she didn't share their classes. Thinking back to their conversation . . . Rebecca liked guys, she did, but she'd tried the dating thing in junior year and it just wasn't for her. She wanted more than some guy looking for a piece of ass. Not all guys were like that, she knew that. But most guys her age were running on hormones; they wanted you for the night and they hoped you were gone the next morning so they wouldn't have to awkwardly and rudely kick you out.

Forgetting the male species for the moment, Rebecca checked her locker combination on the sheet of paper every Mystic Falls High student had received in the mail. Her locker was in the English Hall, which was okay since that was her first class.

The day went by slowly. Most of the teachers only handed out the 'Rules of the Classroom' sheets - like the students hadn't learned by now. But then there was Mr. Tanner, the history teacher. As soon as Rebecca walked in the door she'd known she was not going to like him. He enjoyed humiliating his students.

Luckily though, that was her last class. She met Bonnie and Elena and Matt in the hallway and stopped to chat just a little. Elena had been eye-flirting with some guy - new guy - and Matt had noticed. So had Bonnie. Rebecca didn't comment on that since Matt was still around, but she'd probably bring it up later.

Caroline had been waiting near Bonnie's locker and Rebecca had had her fill of Caroline earlier so she went on to her own locker. Elena followed her.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem even quieter than normal," Elena asked. She was probably referring to the fact that Rebecca didn't see the need to fill every silence with conversation, sometimes quiet was nice.

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah. It's, um . . . Did Bonnie tell you about my dad?"

"The basics. I don't think she wanted me to worry about you."

"Oh. . . Well, we argued again last night about Chelsea. He wouldn't even agree to baby-sitting today. He didn't have to work or anything, he just wouldn't. He's driving me insane. Sometimes I just wanna scream."

"I'm really sorry I haven't -" Elena began.

"Hey, you had your own problems to deal with." Dead parents totally overrode arguing with one.

"No excuse. I've been a bad friend."

"Elena! Rebecca!" Caroline came up behind them. "We're all gonna meet at the Grill later. Wanna come?"

"U-um. . ." Damn Caroline and her need to be around people all the time. "Maybe. I'll let you know. My dad's been on this whole keep-Rebecca-at-home kick. I'll ask."

"Why? Did you do something wrong?"

"No. He just likes laying down the law. But I'll be there if he lets me."

"Cool. Elena, you in?"

Elena smiled softly. "I'm in."  
\-----  
At home the Grill question almost caused another argument but only because Rebecca's dad was drinking. She really wanted to know what his problem was. Whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as he was making it out to be. It couldn't just be Chelsea and it couldn't just be Jessica; something else had to be wrong.

Eventually he relented and he gave her the keys to his car, a new Mustang - not new-new; it was a couple of years old, but still . . . Fairly new. He told her to be home by ten and he also gave her the don't-take-candy-from-a-stranger speech. Okay, the last part was stretching it a little; point was he needed to lighten up.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be home by ten. Love you." That last part was sort of automatic and she wasn't sure she meant it anymore.

As she made her way to the Grill she jammed on whatever was on the radio. Nickleback and other alternative rock like that. It took maybe five minutes to get to the restaurant, the local hangout. There wasn't a whole lot of town to Mystic Falls, Virginia. And there weren't many hangout spots. There was the Grill and then a party place down by the Falls.

Rebecca had on a blue shirt that had pockets in the front and dark wash jeans with sneakers. These were her usual clothing; modest and not too revealing. She usually liked to keep everything covered that needed to be covered. She really didn't need to show off any skin; she was aware she had a nice body. It was all thanks to years of gymnastics and color guard.

She ran into Caroline and Bonnie at the entrance of the Grill and Caroline greeted her with her overenthusiastic self. That part was okay about her. She made you feel she was happy to see you when she saw you. Even if she'd seen you not even two hours ago.

"Dad took a chill pill, huh?" Caroline asked.

"Uh, sort of. But I have a curfew now. Bummer, I know, but why fight it?"

Rebecca looked around. There were older people at the bar in the front; the younger generation was gathered around the foosball table, the pool table, and the dartboard. Girls were hanging off of guys arms; some of the jocks were being loud and obnoxious.

She saw Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's younger brother, trailing Vicki Donovan, Matt's older sister. He had a crush, Rebecca guessed. Jeremy was one of those troubled kids that you couldn't help but feel sorry for, but then on the other hand, you didn't want to encourage the troubled behavior either.

And Vicki was even worse. She had no self-esteem and she let guys treat her like crap.

Case in point: Tyler Lockwood. Football player with anger issues. He was another person Rebecca had a hard time getting along with. He was a dick and he hit on pretty much anything with a vagina. He'd tried getting in Rebecca's pants a few times, but she eventually told him to piss off. If he could prove he wanted more than sex then she'd be willing, but he never had proved it. She'd even gone out with him for a few weeks; she'd given him a chance, and he'd blown it.

Back to the present: Vicki and Tyler. Rebecca hoped Vicki knew what she was getting herself into.

"Hey, you okay?" Bonnie asked, grabbing Rebecca's hand. Bonnie sort of spaced out. She was dazed, far away. What the hell? "Oh, sorry." She drew her hand away. "Uh, spaced out."

"Yeah, obviously. Are you okay?" Rebecca was happy she could take the attention off of herself.

"Yeah, uh, I just do that sometimes."

"Oh, okay. Well, don't do that while you're driving," Rebecca teased, though it did worry her; people didn't just space out like that for no reason.

Having successfully diverted Bonnie's attention, Rebecca turned to Caroline. "So . . . have you heard from Elena? How come she's not here yet?"

"I don't know. She's probably trying to find the perfect thing to wear."

Of course Caroline was worried about her clothes. Or everyone's clothes, actually. Elena, however, wasn't that obsessed with fashion. Yeah, she wanted to look good, but . . . fashion, not her top priority.

"Anyway, what about that new guy?" Bonnie said. "He's in our history class."

"His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore boardinghouse. He lived here when he was kid. Military family; he moved around a lot.

"You got all that in one day?" Bonnie asked.

"Please, I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding," Caroline said.

Rebecca bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Boy crazy Caroline. Wow. She was going to get herself in trouble one day.

"So, uh, anyway . . . I'm gonna go talk to Jeremy. He looks kind of lonely." Vicki must have blown him off, it looked like. "See you guys later."

She made her way over to Jeremy's table and plopped down in a chair. "Hey, Jer."

"Hey, Becca. What's up?"

"Not a darn thing," she said. "Uh, I actually wanted to talk to you about Vicki. I know you like her, so . . . look out for her, okay? Tyler can be a dick when he wants to be."

"Check that." Jeremy looked shyly down at the table. "I like talking to you. You make me feel like I'm not the messed up kid who lost his parents."

"Mm. That's because I don't care if you think you need to get high sometimes. Everybody needs an escape once in a while. Though I do recall when yours used to be drawing."

"Yeah . . . Not so much anymore."

Things between Jeremy and Rebecca were good and easy. She'd known him his whole life and they had the brother-sister thing down to a T. The good I-can-talk-to-you-about-anything relationship, not the bad we-fight-all-the-time relationship.

"Not finding the inspiration you need?"

"Absolutely not."

"I know how that feels."

Rebecca loved singing and writing her own songs and playing her own music, but ever since her mother had died and she'd had to take care of Chelsea she hadn't had time to do much of it. Writing was something she and Elena shared. They'd written together as far back as she could remember.

"Can I get you anything?" Vicki appeared beside Rebecca and smiled a little.

"Uh, Coke, please."

"Comin' right up." Then she walked away without even acknowledging Jeremy.

"Okay, um . . . I'll be right back. Just tell her to leave the drink here."

"Will do. Um . . . Are you okay? You seem a little different."

Crap. Could everyone tell she wasn't herself?

"Uh, yeah. Uh, just stuff over the summer." She hadn't talked to him, either, about her dad because of his parents deaths. And despite the fact that he was a guy, he was surprisingly sensitive when he wanted to be.

"Well, if you wanna talk about it. . ." Jeremy offered, looking at her with his puppy dog eyes.

Rebecca sighed, feeling her throat swell. She hadn't cried about her dad, ever, and she'd barely cried about her mother. With taking care of Chelsea she hadn't really had time to grieve properly. Rebecca had tried to ignore the pain from it, for the most part, but with Jeremy asking about it she couldn't ignore it anymore. She couldn't ignore it because her throat hurt with the emotion she was trying to contain, because her eyes were stinging with unshed tears.

"Hey, come on. I'm - I'm gonna go tell Vicki to forget that drink, okay?" He touched her arm lightly. "We'll go somewhere and we'll talk, okay?"

Oh, no. He was going to make her feel even worse. Alone, she could handle it, could pretend everything was fine. She couldn't pretend anymore.

"I don't . . . um . . . I don't wanna talk about it, but I wouldn't mind hanging out with you for a while."

"Sure, okay, whatever."

"Okay, just give me a minute. I have to go to the bathroom."  
\-----  
Rebecca didn't really have to use the bathroom, she just wanted to get herself under control before facing Jeremy. She preferred to do her crying alone, not with an audience and especially not with a male audience. One could never really tell how a guy would react when confronted with tears, some downright freaked out.

When she began feeling a little better she left the bathroom to go back to Jeremy, but she ran into someone. A guy in a leather jacket. Though she was more focused on his eyes. They were the prettiest blue eyes she'd ever seen. The first thing she could think of was island oceans- that was the color they were.

"Oh, um, sorry. My total bad," she said when she remembered how to speak. And she realized she felt that weird feeling she'd felt earlier, which was bad timing really, but she chalked it up to running into someone.

"No problem. It happens."

The guy had his hands on Rebecca's arms; he'd stopped her from plowing into him too hard. But now it was like . . . there was an electric current flowing from him to her. It surprised her. Apparently he felt it too because he pulled his hands away quickly.

Rebecca realized she was openly staring at him, this guy she didn't know, and looked away. God, even if she never saw him again . . . she would remember his eyes forever.

"So, Miss Girl-who-ran-into-me. You got a name?"

She looked up, surprised that he'd even asked her name. The guy was older by at least five years. Again she got stuck on his eyes.

"Rebecca. You?"

He smirked and she had to admit it was sexy. "Damon. It's nice to meet you, Miss Rebecca."

When she went to shake his hand he brought it to his lips to kiss the back of it. She bit her lip, let out a shaky breath, and felt her cheeks grow warm. She hadn't gotten flustered from a guy in a very long time, but she was sure getting flustered now. Over someone she didn't even know. Jeeze. And she was still staring into his eyes. It was like she couldn't look away.

"You have the most beautiful blue eyes," she whispered sincerely, acutely aware he still had her hand in his. When her mind caught up with her actions she flushed further and she drew her hand away. "God, I'm sorry. I have this condition called word vomit. Whenever I'm thinking something it usually just spews out of my mouth."

Damon smirked again. "It's okay. I have to say I was a little shocked, you being so honest, but it's refreshing." He let a genuine grin grace his lips and her heart skipped a beat. "Let me guess, you're a terrible liar."

"God, yes. I smile or blush or . . . Uh, you know what? I'm gonna stop now. I don't know you, and I'm probably boring you, so. . ."

"Oh, on the contrary, I find you very interesting." His eyes did this weird but sexy, almost flirty, thing and his smirk fell back into place. "If you want, we could grab some coffee, talk some more."

Rebecca wasn't the type to cozy up to people she just met, but she found herself really wanting to with this guy. Too bad she already had plans with Jeremy.

"Wow, I would, but someone's waiting for me."

"Well, of course they are." He did the eye thing again. "You're a very lovely girl, why wouldn't they be?"

She blushed again at the compliment and noticed his smirk grew smirkier; he'd made her blush on purpose.

"No, it's not like that." She had no reason why she felt like she needed to justify herself to this guy; she barely knew him. "He's just a friend, I promised we'd hang. Rain check?"

"Tomorrow? Around five?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll be here."

"Great. See you then."

"Yup. It was nice meeting you, Damon."  
\-----  
When Rebecca got back to Jeremy they went outside, but ran into Elena and the new guy, Stefan. Elena introduced him to the two and he seemed nice enough. His eyes were forest green and he had a brooding forehead. Uh-oh. He was one of those I'm-dark-and-broody-so-give-me-love types. Half of the female population would be hooked by the end of the week.

Stefan and Rebecca shook hands and he gave a small smile but kept quiet for the most part.

"Were you guys leaving already?" Elena asked, looking at Jeremy suspiciously. God, give the kid a break already. Elena meant well, but sometimes her trying to help people came off as sticking her nose in other people's business.

"Yeah, um, we were gonna hang at my place for a little bit. I'll bring him home later."

Elena relaxed a little when Rebecca said she'd be with him. Elena knew Rebecca's dad didn't hold with minors drinking even though he could drink his own self stupid.

"Um . . . It was nice meeting you, Stefan. I'll see you guys in school."

After that Jeremy and Rebecca got into the Mustang and then they took off towards her house. Then she remembered she needed to pick up Chelsea - she hoped Carol hadn't had much of a problem.

It wasn't even eight yet; she figured her dad couldn't get mad at her for hanging out with Jeremy at the house and Jeremy didn't really have a curfew, and Jenna - Jeremy and Elena's aunt - liked Rebecca anyway. Jenna was their legal guardian. Miranda Gilbert had been Jenna's sister and had named Jenna as sole guardian. She was pretty laid back as a parental unit, so. . .

Jeremy and Rebecca didn't talk in the car, they just listened to the radio in comfortable silence. He kept looking at her, though. If she hadn't known it was out of concern for her, she would've been annoyed.

After picking up Chelsea they went straight to her house. When she pulled into her driveway she just sat there with the car on for a minute. She felt better than she had in a while just from being in some guy's presence for about five minutes. That wasn't like her. It was strange and a little scary.

"Becca? What's up with you? You were almost in tears before you went in the bathroom, now you can barely stop smiling. Did you get laid or something?" he teased the last part.

"Jer!" She smacked him in the arm hard, and he chuckled. "Look, Jer, I know I'm acting strange, but remember I said I didn't want to talk about it. Let's just be Jeremy and Rebecca, okay? We'll have fun. Come on."

They'd decided to get out just in time to keep Chelsea from crying - the poor baby hated being strapped in a car seat.

They went in and her dad didn't even say anything about her bringing a guy home; probably because he knew Jeremy and he knew she wasn't interested. Her dad was watching the television and reading the newspaper at the same time. He had an untouched glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage on the coffee table in front of him; at least it was untouched.

"Hey, uh, Jeremy and I are gonna hang out here for a while. I'll drive him home later."

"Yeah, okay," her dad said. "But be careful. There have been a couple animal attacks recently. Read this."

Rebecca sighed when he handed her the newspaper. Front page news: Bodies Found Mutilated by Animals.

Two local residents reported missing were found dead after police discovered their abandoned vehicle on highway.

The two victims had been a couple, both between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. They'd both just been starting out in life; they'd died way too young.

"Um . . . Did the animal get into the car or something? It was the middle of the night, why did they abandon their car?" That was kind of a dumb thing to do, to get out of your car at night and go gallivanting around the woods. That was just asking for trouble.

"Well, I don't know what happened. Sheriff Forbes said it looked like they hit something. The windshield was completely busted in.

"Okay, well, I'll be careful, Dad. I promise." Then, "Come on, Jer, let's go to my room."

"Keep the door open," her dad said, though there was a slight tease to his voice. He did have his moments, which was why Rebecca couldn't bring herself to hate him completely.

"Yeah, yeah."

Rebecca had a Playstation 2 and they both liked racing games. She even had those racing wheel things.

"So, ready to get your butt whipped?" she teased as she placed Chelsea in her crib. Yes, she allowed her sister to sleep in her room with her even though everyone told her she'd regret it later.

"I think you'll find there will be an exchange of butts. I'm better at this game, you know that."

"Yeah, but who's to say I haven't been practicing? I might be able to take you now."

Jeremy was being honest enough; he was better at this game than her. The only games she was good at were the Guitar Hero series. No pun intended, but she totally rocked at those games.

They played the road courses on the NASCAR game, which had her running into everything there was to run over.

"So, are you going to that party tomorrow night?" Jeremy asked.

"Back to school thing at the Falls? I don't know. Not really the celebrating school type."

He shrugged. "A party's a party. It could be fun."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't know, I'll think about it, okay? I'll have to find someone to watch Chelsea."

"Jenna wouldn't mind."

"Hm."

She was still mindful of a certain guy she'd just met that she was supposed to get coffee with. She was actually a little nervous, which was weird because usually guys didn't affect her that way.

"And . . . I beat you again."

She playfully knocked the controller from his hand as he crossed the finish line.

"You cheat! You're a cheater!"

"No," he laughed. "You just suck."

They played a few more games and then her dad offered to drive Jeremy home instead of her doing it. Safety measures and all that. He was so paranoid. And she hoped he hadn't been drinking if he was going to be driving.

Her dad took a brown bag that Rebecca had never seen before with him; it looked heavy. He held it against his chest protectively. God, he was acting so strange lately. Maybe he'd finally snapped and gone crazy. Whatever the reason was for his odd behavior . . . it wasn't Rebecca's problem. He obviously didn't want her help, so he could just deal with it on his own.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I put in the beginning of my other story. I don't bargain reviews for updates, but it is always nice to receive feedback when I write. I'd love to hear from you guys!

The next day school was, well, school-like. The teachers were over the rule-giving and so now the students really had work to get into. In history Mr. Tanner humiliated half the class by asking some stupid question about something that had happened about 150 years ago. Elena said he'd asked the same in her class and only Stefan had gotten it right. It turned out he was distantly related to the original settlers here.

At lunch Rebecca sat with Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and Stefan. Again, throughout the day she got that uncomfortable being watched feeling. She decided if it kept going on she'd have to tell her friends about it, maybe they had felt that way at some point and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Stefan basically reiterated what Rebecca had found out from Caroline the night before. The only new thing she found out was that his parents were dead. Leave it to Caroline to leave out something like that.

"I'm really sorry," Rebecca said sincerely. She was sympathetic, but she still had one of her parents so she didn't really know what it was like. "That must be awful."

Stefan's green eyes became guarded. "It was a long while ago."

That was that; no more was said about that subject. She was not one to go on and on about painful subjects.

After school Bonnie pulled her aside and said, "Grams asked me to give you something."

Bonnie's Grams was a professor at a nearby college - she taught occult or something like that. What could Bonnie's Grams possibly want Rebecca to have?

"Look," Bonnie began apologetically. "It's a book. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. It's a little strange."

"Um . . . Okay."

Bonnie handed her a leather bound book titled 'Vampire'. The letters were a golden yellow. She took the book even though she had no clue what Bonnie's Grams was trying to tell her with this.

"She said . . . she said you'll know and to come to her when you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

"That's what she said you'll know. Don't ask." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "She was drinking again."

Bonnie's Grams had a habit of drinking a few glasses of wine and then telling tall tales about different supernatural things. Hence the psychic thing with Bonnie, and now this book she was giving Rebecca.

"Um . . . Okay. I feel like I should say thank you or something but . . ."

"But it's crazy, right? I get it. But I did my job and gave you the book, so . . . Yeah." Then onto another subject. "Is your dad gonna let you come to the party tonight?"

Rebecca shrugged. "I dunno. Haven't asked yet. I don't even know if I wanna go."

"Oh, you have to come! Even Elena's coming. It'll be us three together again, y'know?"

"A'right," Rebecca said, smiling softly and giving into her enthusiasm. "Well, I'll ask."

"Cool, if you need a ride give me a call, okay?"

"Sure."

Rebecca nodded and Bonnie walked away. She put the book Bonnie had given her in her shoulder bag and then went off to an afternoon tutoring session where she was the tutor. Rebecca didn't really care about school, but she just so happened to be good at it. She didn't mind helping others who actually did care and wanted help. She'd started doing that during the summer, only with younger kids, which had been more a big sister type thing. She'd been able to take Chelsea along and the younger kids had loved having a baby around, so . . . She and Matt Donovan had been assigned the same group of children and that was how Rebecca had gotten to really know him. She'd been there for him after Elena had broken up with him, so they were close.

Matt played football so he couldn't do the tutoring thing anymore, but it had been a way to make money over the summer, now it was just a volunteer thing.

In the present, Rebecca was tutoring high school students, most in lower classes. Some were striving to skip a grade, others just wanted to know what to expect from the grade they were in.

"Hey, people," she said as she stepped into the library. Rebecca could recognize the freshmen right away; they were the younger, nervous ones. The ones who were wondering whether or not they had a witch for a tutor. She was so not a witch.

"Okay, so . . . You guys come with me. I like to do my thing outside, so if it's not raining or too cold I meet out in the schoolyard near the picnic tables."

It was about seventy-five today, too nice to be cooped up, so it was good enough for her. She watched as her group gathered their things, and then they followed her outside.

"Okay, first thing's first. Each of you separate into your own grade. I meet Tuesday's and Thursday's, but I'll make exceptions if you have a schedule problem. I know some of you have other school activities that get in the way of my schedule, so if that's the case . . . please make me a list of the times on those days that you're available. I will be checking with the office to make sure you're telling the truth, so please don't lie to me. That would make me cranky and I'll have to assign you to someone who is not as pleasant as me." The last part was a joke, sort of, but she would reassign them. She was nice but she didn't let people take advantage of it.

"Okay, so today I want each of you to write down what your strengths and weaknesses are. Also, sophomores and juniors, I need you guys to tell me the name of last year's teachers. I like to get feedback and such."

She was very thorough. Sometimes she worried that taking care of a baby had turned her into an obsessive compulsive person.

After the tutoring session was over, Rebecca had thirty minutes to get to the Grill. She brushed her hair before she left the school and then she began the ten minute walk to the restaurant. She was oddly nervous. Part of it was because she barely knew Damon - one reason she'd accepted to meet him in a public place; there would be other people there - but the other part was because he'd really made an impression on her.

He had strong yet delicate features for a guy, and his skin had appeared flawless; it had made her want to touch him to see if it was as perfect as it appeared. His jaw line was well-defined, and his lips . . . looked perfect. Very soft and kissable. And he'd kissed her hand. She hadn't known guys did that anymore, but she'd liked it.

By the time Rebecca reached the Grill she had butterflies in her stomach, which beat the now almost constant vibes she seemed to be getting lately.

Jeeze, get a grip, Becca. He's just another guy, she told herself. He's just an absurdly handsome guy with piercing blue eyes. It was the eyes that did it for her. They were so intense, they were almost hypnotizing. She bet he could get anything he wanted with one glance at whoever he wanted something from.

When Rebecca actually stepped inside the Grill she almost turned back around. Caroline was there; if Caroline saw Rebecca there with a guy, it would be all over the school tomorrow. Caroline couldn't help it; she just didn't know how to keep a secret. But, no. Rebecca had told Damon she'd meet him there, so she was going to meet him there. She didn't want him to think she was a flake. Or a liar. Or that she blew people off.

She chose a seat by the window facing the street and waited patiently for Damon to show up.  
\-----  
Damon Salvatore was on a fact finding mission; the mission being Rebecca Stone. He'd met her the day before - he'd let her run into him on purpose. There was something a little . . . off . . . about her. She vibed at him; she had a very powerful aura and he wanted to know why. Maybe she would be useful in getting Katherine back. Point was he didn't know what Rebecca was capable of or what she was, period. He'd finally found something he hadn't seen before.

The whole electric shock thing had been a bit of a, well, shock and he didn't want to overanalyze that, but she'd obviously felt it too. And her honesty was a breath of fresh air. Her 'word vomit' as she called it was, dare he even think it, adorable. And she blushed, which was a novelty in this day and age.

He hadn't been lying to her; she was a lovely girl. She had waist length honey-blond hair; it had just enough wave to it to make it look fashionable. She was maybe 5'5" or 5'6" and she was shaped the way a woman should be; not a stick-figure Barbie. She had striking green eyes, lighter than Stefan's but darker than a lime. There were sparks of sun-gold around her pupils that gave them a strange but alluring affect. Her skin was clear of all the cosmetics females seemed to think they needed these days; she had a sort of natural beauty that even Damon could appreciate. Hopefully she never made him angry; it would be a shame to rid the world of someone so genuinely beautiful.

He'd followed her home the night before to find out where she'd lived and then he'd kept an eye on her after she'd gotten out of school that day. She had done some tutoring thing, which proved she had a brain at least. Then he'd followed her to the Grill after that where she was now waiting.

Time to do the fact finding, he guessed.  
\-----  
"Hello, Rebecca," she heard as Damon sat across from her. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting long."

"Not at all. I just got here."

She looked at him and almost forgot to breathe when she saw he was smiling at her. He really was a very beautiful man.

"Well . . . since it's late, how about dinner? Or have you already eaten?" Damon put on his most charming smile. "My treat?"

"Oh, um . . ." Rebecca was taken aback. "You don't have to -"

"Please, in exchange for the pleasure of your company, I'll buy you dinner. I insist."

Rebecca shook her head, but accepted nonetheless. "Fine, fine."

She told him what she wanted and he went to order. He flashed her a smile when he came back.

"So, Damon . . . are you from around here, or . . ."

"I was born here. Moved away, now I'm back, obviously. Were you born here?"

"Yeah. So . . . What made you come back?"

"I needed some quality family time." He smirked deviously. "After all, home is the place where, when you come by they have to take you in."

"Okay, then." Rebecca wasn't too keen on family at the moment, but if he felt that way, more power to him.

"Once more with even less feeling?" he teased, smirking.

"Um . . . Daddy issues. Nothing to worry about. I'll just be happy when I can get away from him."

"Mm. Dads. Don't they suck?"

"You too?"

"Long time ago, not anymore."

When their food came they talked in between bites. She found Damon was very good company. He was nice and he could make her laugh. Yeah, he could be sarcastic, almost snarky even, but it was in a good way. He also had no problem stating his opinion. Like he'd said about her honesty, it was refreshing.

In the middle of dinner, Caroline came over to ask if she needed a ride to the Falls. That was her cover story anyway. Rebecca was sure Caroline was just curious.

"No, I'm good," Rebecca answered.

"You sure? Bonnie's coming to pick me up."

Rebecca shook her head. "No. Uh" - she looked at Damon and bit her lip - "Caroline, this is Damon. Damon, Caroline."

"Hi." She gave him a come-to-bed-with-me smile and Rebecca had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Caroline could at least try to be subtle about it.

"Hi." Damon barely glanced at her; he was too busy watching Rebecca. She felt a little smug about that.

When Caroline realized Damon wasn't going to give her the time of day, she gave up and turned her attention back to Rebecca.

"So, uh . . . Are you even coming to the party?"

"I told Bonnie I'd be there, Care."

"See you there then."

"Yup."

Then Caroline walked out of the restaurant. Rebecca placed her face in her hands and felt herself flush. God, sometimes Caroline really got to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just . . . Caroline is going to tell everyone that I'm going out with an older guy. She's a gossip queen. The whole school will know about my dinner with you by tomorrow morning."

"Does that bother you?"

"Not really," she said honestly. "I just wish people would mind their own business." Rebecca smiled softly. "You know, the damage is done already, so why not make the most of it? I did promise to be there . . . Would you like to come? A lot of girls know older guys, you'll blend."

"Well, ya know, since you asked so nicely . . ." He shrugged and did this weird eye thing - seriously where did he learn to do that? "I'll go pay the bill and then we can go."

Rebecca picked up her book bag, which Damon then took from her. Again when their hands touched she felt that weird current flow through her.

"Let me get that for you."

"Um . . . Thank you." Then, "Are you sure you don't wanna split the bill? I mean, it's no problem if . . ."

Damon shook his head and his black hair fell into his eyes. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I made a lady pay for her own dinner?"

"Okay, but can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"No insult intended, but just how gullible do you think I am? I mean, I don't know how you deliver some of your lines with a straight face. Don't get me wrong, I like it, it's sweet, but do they ever actually work?"

Her voice was amused because she found him amusing.

"Well, darn." He stopped walking and smirked at her. "You weren't supposed to figure that out for another couple of weeks. Sweet talk doesn't win you over, huh?"

"They're just words, Damon. But, you know, you can continue. It's still flattering."

"Well, maybe I say the things I do because I like seeing you blush."

That, of course, made her blush; she'd known he did that on purpose. Jeeze.

"Well, I blush a lot, so you'll become immune to it."

After he paid the bill he led her outside to an old electric blue Camaro. Wow.

"Nice car. Going with the classics, gotta respect that."

He then opened her door for her so she could get in. He'd smirked at her comment on his car and then, "Anything breakable in your bag?"

"Nope."

So he tossed it in the backseat unceremoniously. She giggled at the indifference he had for the school stuff. Then he hopped in the front seat.

"So, should I be worried about your other friends? Are they as obvious as Caroline?"

"No!" Rebecca laughed. "There aren't two of those in our group. Thank God. I'd go insane."

She proceeded to tell him a little about Elena and Bonnie. She left out the fact that Elena's parents had recently died, and that Bonnie thought she was a psychic. Best friend code, she didn't blab about personal things like that.

"So where do you live, Damon?"

"At the boardinghouse with my uncle and my brother."

"The Salvatore boardinghouse? With Stefan?"

"Yup. That's my brother. You know him, I take it?"

"Uh, I've met him. We didn't talk much. He was with Elena. Um . . . He seems sort of quiet. Guarded."

"Yup, that's him. Uh, Elena, brown hair? He was with her at the Grill last night?"

"That's her. She's nice, in case you were wondering. Stefan's in good hands." Then, "Have you ever even been to the Falls?"

"A few times when I was younger."

Rebecca then remembered something Stefan had said earlier that day. "Um . . . Stefan said that your parents died. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened; I don't need to know, but . . . For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

He looked at her and his expression was unexpectedly vulnerable and open. He even swallowed like he didn't know what to say.

"Stefan said it happened a while ago, but if it's a sore subject . . . Just tell me to shut up and I will."

"No, it's okay. It's just, we're almost there."

"Oh."

So they parked and then walked toward the group of kids gathered in the woods. Now that she thought about it, though, probably not the best place to party since there had been animal attacks nearby. Oops, and she hadn't let her dad know where she'd be. Guess it didn't matter now. She'd deal with the consequences later.

She and Damon reached Elena just as Bonnie was walking away. She'd looked spooked.

"What's her deal?"

Elena jumped when Rebecca spoke and turned around quickly. "Becca, don't do that!"

"Sorry," she said and laughed. "Uh, this is -"

"Damon," another voice filled in. "What're you doing here?"

It was Stefan, Damon's brother. Only Stefan seemed even more on edge now. And Damon had his patented smirk on his face, and he kept glancing at Elena with the strangest expression; Rebecca couldn't quite place it and after a few seconds she stopped trying.

"Hello, Stefan."

"Why are you here?" Stefan asked, voice hard.

Rebecca looked between the two brothers and then at Elena. She could tell she and Elena were thinking the same thing: These two had serious issues they needed to work out, but here was not the place to do it.

"I missed my little brother," Damon said. Then he gestured to Rebecca. "I was invited. Pretty girl asked me to go somewhere, not gonna turn her down."

"You hate small towns," Stefan said, ignoring Damon's previous comment. "It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

"I've managed to keep myself busy." Damon smirked again.

"Okay, um, I'm gonna go get a drink," Rebecca said. "Elena, come with me."

"Sure, we'll be back in a minute."

As soon as they were out of earshot Elena said, "What's up with them? I didn't even know Stefan had a brother."

"I learned on the way here," Rebecca said. "I don't know what happened, but there's definitely tension." Then kind of hopefully, "Did Jenna say she was staying with Chelsea at my house? I know -"

"Yes, Chelsea will be fine."

Rebecca got an unopened bottle of beer and popped the top off. She didn't drink a lot - mostly because she had to be the responsible one since her dad did drink a lot - but on occasion she could throw a few back. She just wished it didn't taste so nasty.

"How do you know Damon?" Elena asked.

"Um, I met him yesterday. We had - we had dinner tonight." She blushed remembering what happened. "Uh, Caroline was there and, uh, the whole school will know tomorrow so I wanted you to know first."

"Any sparkage or are your hormones still on hold?"

"I like him. He's sweet, but . . . Not sure on his end. I'd rather not move fast, ya know? Take it slow. Make sure."

"Yeah, you're she-of-the-level-head."

Rebecca had her reasons for that and Elena knew them so she let the comment slide. She'd had exactly two boyfriends and both had turned out to be jerks. Tyler Lockwood was a typical red-blooded American teenage boy - horny all the time. She hadn't been into it at all. Then there was a guy named Chase, who didn't live in Mystic Falls anymore so he didn't matter, but he'd been . . . evil.

But Damon . . . "He . . . makes me feel not level-headed." And it kind of terrified her.

"Who makes you feel not level-headed?" Damon's voice startled her. "Do I know him?"

Rebecca got her face under control before she looked at him. "Nope, don't think so. You want one?" She gestured to the beer. "Oh, wait, you have to drive."

"I think I can handle one beer."

"Okay." So she opened one for him too. "Um . . . Did Stefan leave?"

"Nah, he'll be back. He'll brood for a few minutes and he'll be fine."

Brooding . . . Rebecca didn't get the point of brooding. Although brooding was probably healthier than ignoring things until they went away, which Rebecca was good at.

Rebecca was vaguely aware of Vicki and Tyler going into the woods - probably to make out. Didn't they knew there was more to life? She saw Jeremy looking after them with a puppy-dog expression. She really felt sorry for him. He was always there for Vicki and she dropped him every time Tyler came around. One of these times Jeremy just needed to not be there and then see how she liked that. She might learn to appreciate him more.

Rebecca hated girls who couldn't see what a good thing they had when they had it. Especially when it was right in front of their faces.

The now familiar current that Rebecca knew had something to do with her new blue-eyed friend shot through her arm as he brought her out of her reverie.

"You okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thinkin'. Were you saying something?"

"Just that I was gonna go find Stefan. But I'll be back. Promise."

"'Kay."

He let his hand trail down her arm to her hand and he squeezed. From the twinkle of amusement in his crystal blue eyes, she could tell he'd done that on purpose; she was blushing again. Then he tapped her on the nose with his finger.

"You are so fun to play with. I'll be back."

As he walked away Elena giggled. "Ooh, he wants to play with you."

"Shut up!" Rebecca whispered. "He didn't mean it that way." She didn't think he did, anyway.  
\-----  
Rebecca steered clear of Caroline, who was drunk, and went in search of Bonnie. The last time she'd seen Bonnie was before the Stefan and Damon incident; Bonnie had been freaked and Rebecca wanted to know why. Bonnie was hanging with a few of her cheerleader companions. Rebecca had no problem pulling her away; some of the less pleasant cheerleaders had issues with a brain hanging with the popular kids. Bonnie and Elena liked her because she was nice; Caroline liked her because Caroline was desperate for attention.

"Bonnie, are you okay? I saw you earlier with Elena . . . What happened?"

"Nothing. I saw . . . I thought I saw something. It's happened before with you, but it can't . . . be possible. I'm just drunk."

"What did you think you saw?"

"You were fighting . . . something. There was a . . . man. He looked human, but he had fangs. Red eyes and there were veins under his eyes."

Rebecca was a little surprised, but she also had a normal explanation. "Bonnie, could this have anything to do with the book your Grams gave you? It was called 'Vampire'. Maybe that's what caused the thought to pass through your head? Power of suggestion."

Bonnie looked uncertain but relieved that Rebecca had come up with a rational explanation. But, come on, people didn't have fangs and red eyes. Vampires weren't real.

"Somebody help!" was what got Rebecca's attention.

Elena and Jeremy were coming out of the woods, and Jeremy was holding an unconscious Vicki in his arms. Bonnie and Rebecca rushed over, mostly because Elena was freaking out.

"It's her neck. Something bit her. She lost a lot of blood. It's bad."

Rebecca, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler were circled around Vicki. Like Tyler even cared; he shouldn't have left the girl in the woods by herself. Rebecca noticed that Vicki had bite marks on her neck. A human bite mark with puncture wounds on either side.

Too much vampire talk, she told herself.

Rebecca flashed back to Bonnie's talk of fangs and her hands started shaking; she felt lightheaded. She couldn't believe she was thinking what she was thinking. She was a rational - as Elena had said, level-headed - person. She didn't believe in anything she couldn't see. But she was seeing it now.

Rebecca reached into the back pocket of her jeans. "I'm gonna call an ambulance."

She walked away to a quieter place and dialed 911. She wasn't freaking out yet and she would probably wait until she got home. Not freaking out in a crisis was something she was good at.

Once she gave the police the information they gave her the estimated time it would take for them to get there and also said they were sending an animal control unit to the area.

"They'll be here in about fifteen minutes," she told Matt. "They said to keep pressure on the wound."

Tyler tore the end of his shirt off and Rebecca whipped it away from him to tie it around Vicki's neck. "Keep it there," she told him, noticing Bonnie and Elena had stepped away.

She went to be with them. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Bonnie said. "Me and Caroline are gonna go mainline coffee, wait for some news."

"I gotta take Jeremy home," Elena said.

Bonnie took a deep breath and then, "Elena, there's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw or I think I saw . . . I have this feeling that it's just the beginning."

Rebecca took that in because she remembered what Bonnie had said about fangs and vampires. Maybe she hadn't just been drunk. Maybe there was something to Bonnie's revelation after all.

"I'm - I'm gonna stick around," Rebecca said. "Elena, if I can't find Damon, do you think Jenna will give me a ride home?"

"Yeah, sure. I already called Jenna. She's on her way."

"Okay, well . . . I'm gonna go look for Damon, call me when she gets here."

"'Kay. Call me if you find him."

"Will do."  
\-----  
Rebecca looked through the crowd and then when she didn't see him right away she went toward the picnic area where other people were. He wasn't there either. Crap. He still had her book bag with the 'Vampire' book in it. He'd probably think she was a freak if he went through her things, and he seemed like the type who would.

Rebecca watched as Matt got into an ambulance with his sister and then as Elena walked over to a still drinking Jeremy. Bonnie and Caroline pulled away in her white car and then she saw that Damon's car was still in the lot. So she'd just go get her bag and if he didn't find her before Elena and Jeremy left, she'd leave with them. But she really wanted to know if Damon was okay. With what had happened to Vicki she was kind of worried. She'd brought Damon here, so if he got hurt it would be her fault.

She stayed near the car and actually got in because it started raining.

"Come on, Damon, where are you?" She really didn't want to have to go in the woods to look for him, but she would if she had to.

Now that Rebecca was alone she couldn't stop shaking. She felt dizzy and sick. She hoped she didn't get sick in the car. She also felt like she wanted to scream, but she covered her mouth to muffle the sound if it came.

But it didn't because suddenly Damon was there in the car with her.

"There you are," he said. "I've been looking for you." He took her in and moved her hand away from her face to hold it in his hand.

"You have blood on your hand. Did you hurt yourself?"

"It's - it's not my blood." She swallowed and then . . . Then she realized she felt like she couldn't breathe. Too much had happened in so little time and now, now she wanted to freak out. Well, her body obviously did, but she told herself she wouldn't do that. Not yet. She needed to distract herself.

"You know, when you wanna cry you really should just let it out."

If she 'let it out' she'd probably hyperventilate. She did that when no one was watching. Full out shaking, sobbing can't breathe hyperventilating. It hadn't happened in a long time, but she remembered a time when it happened a lot.

"I can't. Not with you watching." She got her cell phone out and texted Elena that she'd found Damon and all was fine. "Take me home?"

"Sure. Where would that be?"

So, she gave him the address.  
\-----  
When they reached her house she reached into the back to get her bag and she cursed as her books fell out. It was just one of those days. She got out and opened the back door; Damon was already reaching over the backseat to help her. He picked up the 'Vampire' book.

"Um . . . That's an interesting book." He eyed it and then her suspiciously.

"Yeah, it's not mine. A friend gave it to me. I don't even know if I'm gonna read it."

"Even after what happened tonight?"

"Especially after what happened tonight." She sighed as he helped her put her books back in her bag.

"Rebecca, come in the house, please."

Her shoulders slumped when she heard the hard tone in her dad's voice. He sounded like he disapproved.

"Gotta go. Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome. See you around?"

She smiled softly. "Count on it."

Once in the house her dad started in on her. "Where were you? It's after - is that blood?" He grabbed her hand. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I . . . I was at the Falls with Elena and Bonnie, a bunch of other people from school. Vicki Donovan was attacked, bitten by an animal."

"You did this without asking?"

"Someone almost died, Dad! I don't think my not telling you everything is the point right now." She withdrew her hand. "I'm going to bed."

"Who was that guy you were with?"

"Just a guy. His name is Damon. He was at the party; he gave me a ride home. I'm going to bed."

He actually let her go this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I was a little iffy about Damon's parts, but I was like he can be charming when he wants to be and that's what he was trying to put off in this chapter. Plus Rebecca didn't do anything to make him angry, like I put in the small Damon's POV section.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think. Please? :)


	3. Chapter Three

Rebecca's dreams were filled with blood and teeth - or fangs, really - and she seemed to be fighting these . . . inhuman creatures. Sometimes, though, it wasn't her. Sometimes she was other people: A warrior in China, a woman in New York, a blond in California. She witnessed their deaths and grieved for them as if they were her own. Point was she was fighting, always fighting. When she woke up she would be exhausted; her sleep obviously wasn't restful.

The dreams started the night of Vicki's attack; maybe it was because of it, Rebecca wasn't sure. All she knew was that she didn't want the dreams to continue.

She walked around in a daze at school. She couldn't make herself pay attention. She could barely contain the irritation she had when Caroline began talking about Bonnie's supposed ability.

"I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kind of tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches, I don't think so."

Speaking of tuning out . . . Rebecca decided she wasn't going to her last period. She really didn't feel up to dealing with Tanner. He was one annoyance she could deal without with the way she felt.

"You guys, I'm not feelin' so great. I'm gonna ditch. Will one of you stop by Tanner's after school and text me later with the homework?"

"Sure. Feel better," Bonnie said.

"Cool. See ya."

As Rebecca went toward her locker she saw Elena and Matt talking and redirected her route. She wanted to know how Vicki was.

"They're keeping her overnight, but she should be able to come home tomorrow."

"That's good news," Elena said. "Did you get in touch with your mom?"

"Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."

Rebecca had only met Ms. Donovan a few times and she didn't really care for her. Parents shouldn't ditch their kids for a boyfriend; the kids should come first. Ms. Donovan had been too much of a partier to actually settle down for Matt and Vicki.

"Vicki's lucky that she's okay," Rebecca said.

"I know. And now there's talk of some missing campers."

"Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?" Elena asked.

"She said it was a vampire," Matt said sheepishly.

"What?" Rebecca and Elena said in unison.

"Yeah, she wakes up last night, mutters 'vampire' and passes out. I think she was drunk."

Vampire. Drunk or not, there that word was again. Rebecca had never believed in the supernatural, but now . . . Now she almost had no choice but to. God, she needed to talk to Bonnie's Grams.

"I really gotta go, but I'm glad she's okay, Matt."

"Thanks, Becca."

She gave him and Elena a brief hug and went on to her locker. Once she put away the things she didn't need she slammed the door shut. She was just about to walk away when she noticed there was an imprint of her fingers in the metal. She could not have done that. The locker was made of metal and she was not that strong. But the way the metal was molded now, like something had been holding on too hard . . .

It was definitely time for her to talk to someone.  
\-----  
It was about a fifteen minute walk to Sheila Bennett's house and when Rebecca got there she got out the book Bonnie had given her. Then she knocked on the door.

When Sheila opened the door Rebecca handed her the book.

"What's happening?" she asked directly. "You gave Bonnie this book to give to me and now people are getting bitten. They say it's animals, but I saw the bite mark. No animal did that. What's going on?"

"I think you know, dear," Sheila said kindly. "Come inside. We can talk."

Rebecca nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped over the threshold. She knew that her life was beginning to change and she was a little terrified. Her life had been built on routine and now this, whatever this was, was about to change everything.

Rebecca had always liked Sheila - she even went so far as to call her Grams sometimes too even though they weren't related in any way - but she had also never really believed in any of the stories Sheila had told Bonnie. Sheila was kind, though, and that was why Rebecca liked her. Sheila Bennett was a thin old woman, but she was also strong. She protected the people she cared about.

Rebecca sat on the couch with Sheila and the latter placed the Vampire book on the coffee table in front of them. Rebecca stayed silent until she couldn't anymore.

"What's wrong with me? I've been . . . I don't know." Rebecca ran her hands through her hair, frustrated. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Sane people don't think the things I'm thinking now."

"You are not crazy. You've been feeling strange, noticing things that other people haven't, doing things that seem impossible."

"I put a dent in my locker with my hand. I don't know how." She didn't know why she was admitting that out loud. She just felt like she needed to talk about it and since Sheila had been the one to make sure she got the book . . .

"You're getting stronger. You've been having the nightmares? They've started?"

"I'm -" Rebecca shook her head, still frustrated and confused. "I don't understand what's happening."

"The dreams you've been having, you're someone else. You fight in your dreams. Creatures?"

"Vampires," she whispered. "Is that what they are?"

"Yes. They come in the shape of humans. They feed on us. It's in their nature, it's what they do. They need blood to survive."

Sheila got up, went out of the room for a minute and then came back with a wooden stake. It was long and sharp and elaborately carved.

"But as long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. Girls with the strength and the skill to kill them, to stop them. One dies, the next one is called. The last Slayer, a girl in California, died. You have been called."

Rebecca had dreamed of the girl in California. She'd been blond and short and green-eyed. She'd looked maybe twenty-four. She'd been so young.

"But I'm just . . . I'm just a girl. A seventeen-year-old girl. I can't -"

"Take this."

Sheila gave her the stake and she was amazed that the feel of it felt right, like it belonged in her hand. An odd awareness began to fill her; an incredible sense of power rushed through her and overwhelmed her.

Then she dropped the stake on the floor. No, this was not happening. This was not going to be her life; she was not going to spend the rest of her life chasing after things that weren't even supposed to exist in the first place.

"Why me? Why now?"

"The dreams start when something big is about to happen. You can't just walk away from this. You were called for a reason, Rebecca. Something is going to happen here, something big, and you might be able to stop it."

"Big as in bad?"

Sheila looked at her sadly. "You already know the answer to that question. You need to train. You're getting all this new strength, and you could hurt someone if you don't know how to control it."

Rebecca bit her lip, concentrating on taking everything in. "How - how do you know all this?"

"Before I became a teacher I worked with the Watcher's council. That's a group of people who live in England. I was part of their coven. They have a group of Seers who keep up with the Slayer line. When they saw that you were being called here they contacted me by phone and told me I was to watch over you. Prepare you. I'm to act as Watcher until one is sent here for you."

"Watcher? Like a teacher?"

"More like a mentor, but yes."

"Vicki Donovan was attacked last night. Is she gonna become a vampire?"

"No, baby. She has to die with vampire blood in her system. That's how you change into a vampire."

"What am I supposed to do? Wh -"

She covered her mouth as the first tear fell. She felt like screaming, much like she had the night before. She felt as Sheila wrapped her in a hug.

"You can cry here. Let it out."

Rebecca felt a dam break inside her and then she was sobbing. Why was this happening to her? Didn't she have enough to deal with? A baby sister, who was more like a daughter than a sister; a drunk father; having to be strong for both of them.

"Just let it out. You can handle this. You wouldn't have been called if you couldn't. You are strong and brave and good. Never forget that."

That made her cry harder. She cried until she literally couldn't anymore. Then she asked her question again: What was she supposed to do now?

"Try to act normal. Don't tell anyone anything. If a vampire finds out what you are . . . You won't be able to get a moment's rest. They will begin hunting you."

"Okay." Like she could tell anyone anyway without them thinking she was insane. "Wh - what can I do to keep safe?"

"Well, they can't come in unless you invite them in. You can kill a vampire, stake to the heart, sunlight, decapitation, fire."

"Hm. Holy water? Crucifixes? Garlic?"

"Drinkable, decorative, edible."

"Hm."

"But I have something else for you. Wait here."

When Sheila got back Rebecca saw that she had a necklace in her hand. It was a regular gold chain with a cross that was about an inch in length.

"The cross won't help you, but the vervain inside will. Vampires have a way of compelling people to do what they want. But as long as you have vervain in you or on you they can't control you. There's liquid vervain in the necklace. If a vampire gets vervain in their system it makes them weak."

Rebecca scoffed softly. "I feel like I should be taking notes or something."

"No pop quizzes. Promise." Sheila helped her put the necklace on. "Keep this on you, okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."  
\-----  
Rebecca didn't want to go home so she texted Elena to see what she was up to. Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline were at the local café, so Rebecca decided to join them. When she got there she ordered herself a cappuccino and cinnamon bun. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, and she was hungry.

As she sat with the three girls she realized they were talking about Stefan and Elena. Apparently he'd spent the night with her in her room. Finally, something normal to take Rebecca's mind off things.

"Becca, what's wrong, you look awful," Elena said sympathetically.

"I've been feeling off today. I'll be okay. You and Stefan? You were with him all night?"

"Yeah, but nothing happened."

"You and Stefan talked all night?" Caroline asked skeptically. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy-feely of any kind?"

"Nope, we didn't go there."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends, okay? You are supposed to share the smut."

Rebecca laughed and it felt so good. Usually Caroline's annoying tendencies were, well, annoying, but at the moment Rebecca was glad and appreciative of Caroline's shallowness.

"We just talked for hours," Elena claimed.

"Okay, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already. Okay, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex." Caroline smiled mischievously.

Bonnie, on the other hand, looked at Caroline like she was crazy. Bonnie, like Rebecca, was a virgin. They were both waiting for Mr. Right. And Rebecca hadn't had time to get physical with guys. Now with her new . . . thing . . . she probably never would.

"Profound," Elena teased. But then Elena began to get up.

"Where're you going?" Rebecca asked.

"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was gonna do."

Then she walked away; Caroline looked smug.

"I guess she started the day saying she was going to jump Stefan Salvatore's bones," Rebecca said, rolling her eyes. She got a laugh from both of her friends.

"What about you?" Caroline asked Rebecca. "You and Mr. Blue Eyes?"

"Nothin' to tell, really. I like him, he's nice. He dropped me off at home and that's it. Dad flipped 'cause I got home late, and if there was gonna be any 'sloppy first kiss', as you put it, Dad pretty much put a stop to it. He did hint that he wanted to see me again, though."

"That's good news. What do you know about him?"

"I don't know. Just that he and Stefan are brothers, really. And he's playful, fun. Overconfident in that sexy type of way. And he gives me butterflies."

"Butterflies are also good," Bonnie said. "You think you like him enough to go out with him if he asked."

"Mm, too soon to tell. I'd try a friendship, though." To get the subject off of her she began a new conversation.

"So . . . Tomorrow night. Comet thing. What're we doing?"

"Meeting in the town square," Caroline said. "I'm meeting with Tyler and Matt after school to help set everything up. Candles, the painting booths for the kids, things like that."

"Hm. I have that tutoring thing or I'd help," Rebecca said.

Caroline did the community stuff because she wanted to be Miss Mystic Falls; Rebecca did the things she did for the simple fact that she liked to be helpful.

"You know, I was talking to Grams and she said the comet was a sign of impending doom. Last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity."

That wasn't surprising. The last time the comet had passed over Mystic Falls had been during the Civil War, almost a century and a half ago.

"Mm. Yeah, then you poured Grams another shot and she told you 'bout the aliens," Caroline snarked.

"Why do you do that?" Rebecca asked. "Other people's opinions besides yours might be valid, you know."

"No, Rebecca, it's fine," Bonnie said, trying to keep the peace.

"No, it's not. Every time we try to tell her something important she makes a bitchy little comment and then we can't talk anymore."

Rebecca shook her head and got up. She realized that what she'd said had probably - definitely - hurt Caroline's feelings, but she wasn't going to apologize for telling the truth.  
\-----  
On the way home Rebecca ran into Stefan. He caught up with her when she was halfway there.

"Hey, Elena said you were feeling sick?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm good now." Not that it was his business. "Um . . . Did you want something?"

"I wanted to talk to you, actually. About Damon."

"Okay." She drew the word out. "What about him?"

"Look, I can't tell you what to do, but he likes to play games, Rebecca. He wants what he wants and he doesn't care who he hurts in the process. If - if he's being nice to you, it's because he needs you for something. He'll end up hurting you."

Rebecca blinked a few times. What had happened to make Stefan act this way? Was Damon really that bad?

"Um . . . Thanks, but I like to make my own judgments. So far, he seems okay."

"I'm just warning you to be careful around him, okay?"

"Uh-huh." She sighed. "Look, if you're talking about the sweet talk and the eyes and the cockiness . . . I get it. But I'm not some school girl with a crush."

Technically she was, but she was also smart enough to know that Damon was just messing with her, and half the things that he said were spoken in a teasing sort of way.

"Uh, Elena was going to your house to look for you, so . . ."

Rebecca only said that to see if it would make him leave her alone; it worked like a charm. Apparently he really was worried about Damon and he didn't want Elena alone with him.

She smiled as Stefan walked away and she had an immature urge to stick her tongue out at his retreating back. She appreciated the concern, really, she did, but she was good at looking out for herself. Except for the recent weirdness that was her dad, Rebecca had pretty much been left to her own devices as a kid. Her mom had been more of a friend than a parent, and as long as Rebecca hadn't screwed up too bad her dad had never really taken an interest in her life. As long as she hadn't made the family look bad, he hadn't really cared. He'd loved laying down the law, of course, but she thought that was a male thing.

She'd been happier with that arrangement. It was better that way. Better than the constant watch he had her under now. Now her home was like a prison to her, which was why she tried to stay away from it as much as possible. She might've asked if she could move in with Elena or Bonnie if she hadn't had Chelsea to look after.  
\-----  
When she got home she heard her dad arguing with someone - he was on the phone if the lack of response was anything to go by. This time it was because she'd skipped history. Okay, maybe he had a legitimate reason to yell this time. The problem was her dad was drinking and when he drank he tended to lose his head a bit. He had never hurt her physically but he still said hurtful things. Things he claimed not to remember later.

"It's the first week of school and I'm already getting calls from the principal," her dad yelled.

Like she expected, he was on the phone.

"Let it go?" he said. "If I don't nip this thing -"

"Hi, Dad," Rebecca interrupted. "I skipped history because I wasn't feeling well. I checked myself out and -"

"Why didn't you come home?" he asked. "Did something happen? You look like you've been crying."

"No, I'm okay." She headed to her room. "Going to bed."

"The sun's still out," he said suspiciously.

"Yeah, I can see that."

Once in her room she flopped down on her bed and again felt like something in her was going to break.

"No, no, no," she whispered to herself.

She pulled one of her pillows close to her chest and took a deep breath. It made her chest hurt. She realized she was . . . achingly lonely.

Suddenly she knew what she needed. Sleep. Uninterrupted, dreamless sleep. You can't be lonely if you're asleep. She got her cell phone out and dialed Jeremy Gilbert's number.

"What's up, Becca?"

She scoffed because she could tell he was stoned.

"Hey, Jer, look . . . You know I hate asking, but do you have any sleeping pills? I've been having bad dreams, so nothing that'll make me hallucinate, but I need to rest. If it can control pain too, that would be great. A low dosage should do."

"I can get them for you. When do you need 'em?"

"Tonight would be good. Meet me at my bedroom window?"

"Sure. I'll be there in an hour."

"Great. You're a life saver."

Rebecca had barely hung up when her cell phone began vibrating. She didn't know the number on the screen but she answered anyway.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Rebecca."

She smiled as Damon's deep, rich voice filled the line, but then . . . "How'd you get my cell number?"

"I'm stalking you," he said simply and she rolled her eyes. Then he laughed. "Your information card fell out of your book bag; I found it in my car."

This time she laughed. "Oh, okay, that makes sense. Did you want something or did you just miss the sound of my voice?"

"I was actually calling to see what you were doing tomorrow night for the comet."

She opened her mouth but didn't say anything for a second because she'd been taken by surprise. Then, "Oh, um, I don't know. I was supposed to meet Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena tomorrow, but I kind of went off on Caroline, so I don't know if I'm gonna." She smirked a little. "Unless you're asking me."

"Do you want me to?" he asked. Or teased, more precisely.

"I wouldn't hate it," she said vaguely. "Say the words and I'm there."

Damon was silent for a few seconds and she imagined that he was trying to figure out if he could take her at face value. She also imagined he had that same vulnerable, open expression she'd seen yesterday.

"I'll pick you up from school; we can have dinner again," he finally said.

"Um . . . I get out at four-thirty."

"That's a little late," he mused. "Do you have detention or something?"

"I tutor some of the students. Makes me feel useful."

"And it keeps you away from home," Damon observed. "I didn't get you in trouble last night, did I?"

She groaned at his semi-regretful tone. "No, my dad's just an ass. And a control freak. I mean, really, he chooses now as the time to take an interest in my life? I think I liked it better when he was indifferent."

"He's a real quality timer, huh?"

"Something like that." Rebecca chuckled. "My mom was okay, but she lived in her own world sometimes. She tried, I know she did, but . . . I'm tired. Ignore me. I'm not going to complain to some guy I just met."

When Rebecca didn't get an answer right away, she checked to make sure her phone was still working. It wasn't dead; she still had three bars and she hadn't lost the signal.

"Damon?" No answer. "Did you fall asleep or something?"

She heard him laugh. "I'm ignoring you. Your words, remember?"

"I meant my whole parent speech. Ignore that. Jerk," she finished lightly.

"Okay, number one: Ow. I am offended by that. And two: I know what you meant."

"Well, good. Hm." She swallowed back a yawn and then sighed. "Damon, what happened between you and Stefan? I mean, there's family drama and then there's . . . you guys. He actually tracked me down earlier to warn me about you."

"Ah, what did St. Stefan have to say?" Damon's voice was harder now. Just from the mention of Stefan's name.

"He said you like to play games, which I figured out already. All your flirty comments, I already know not to take them seriously. But he said that if you're being nice to me . . . it's because you want something from me."

"What do you think?" Damon asked.

Rebecca could tell that the way she answered this question would determine how Damon would treat her in the future. So the question became what should she say?

"Well . . . I don't know. Yet. I withhold my opinion. But I did tell Stefan to shove it. In a nice way, of course."

"Ooh, I like you. Anyone who tells Stefan off is good in my book."

Apparently she'd passed that test.  
\-----  
Damon enjoyed - if that was the right word - talking to Rebecca. She was honest and she kept surprising him because of it. One of the reasons he hadn't eaten her yet was because she was interesting to him. She did smell very appetizing, though. Maybe he could just take a few sips and make her forget afterwards.

He hadn't lied to her about wanting to know if she had plans for tomorrow night. He was bored and when he got bored . . . Well, that was when the trouble started.

Then just 'say the words and I'm there'. Honest, open, friendly. It was going to get her hurt, get her heart broken one day. Not that he cared; it was just an observation he'd made.

Not to mention, she didn't fall for Stefan's annoying good brother routine. She was smart enough to see through his high and mighty act. Damon's act was less transparent, but she still saw through some of it.

Damon had found out Rebecca was a Vampire Slayer. It wasn't her fault; she didn't have a choice. In fact, it was probably his and Stefan's fault. Girls who were called were called because vampires were around. They weren't just picked randomly, it didn't happen by chance.

Rebecca, however, wasn't a threat no matter what she was. Yet, anyway. She hadn't even started training or decided that she wanted to. She was only seventeen and she'd just had the whole world thrown onto her shoulders. He wondered if she knew what she was getting herself into, and how long she'd survived once she got into it. Damon even wondered if he'd be the one to kill her when the time came.

Rebecca was okay. For a human. She wasn't nosy or bitchy or annoying. No, she was pure and sweet and chaste, and Damon almost felt sorry for messing with her. But vampires were drawn to people like that. It was in their nature to destroy people like that. Dark destroys light; light destroys dark. That was the way of the world. Back when he and Stefan had been turned, Stefan would've killed Rebecca right away. He wouldn't have been able to stop himself.

Damon had always had more control than Stefan; it had been almost disgusting to have to watch Stefan drool over every human that had walked by. It was funny that Damon used to be the good one, and now Stefan was always suspicious of what Damon was up to.

It wasn't a one way street, though. Neither brother really trusted the other. Stefan had made sure of that 145 years ago with Katherine.  
\-----  
After spending more than a fair amount of time on the phone with Damon, Rebecca turned her TV onto one of the music channels. She also got out her new vampire book and played with the spine. She didn't really know if she wanted to open the book, open that can of worms just yet. But she needed to. She needed to know why this was happening; she needed to know about everything. She had to know what to look out for.

She knew the basics. Vampires couldn't walk in the sun, fire wasn't their friend, decapitation, stake to the heart. They needed blood to survive.

She knew she needed to start training. She needed to be ready just in case something happened. She'd seen that she was stronger even though she didn't particularly feel stronger. She felt bad. She didn't feel like she was strong enough to do anything but lay there on the bed and sleep.

When Jeremy finally got there she was relieved. She was hopeful that the pills would help her relax and sleep without dreams. She didn't ask where or how he'd gotten the pills, she was just thankful he had them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a filler chapter. I needed it to explain all the Slayer stuff. As you can see Rebecca is the type that seems to think she has to be on top of everything all the time. She thinks she has to be strong all the time, but everyone has their breaking point and I think finding out there are dead-not-dead people running out is hers. LOL


	4. Chapter Four

The next day at school time seemed to fly by. Rebecca wasn't as dazed because she'd actually gotten some sleep. She was actually able to put up with Caroline. Rebecca felt she had to get along with her because Rebecca didn't want to apologize, but she wanted to make amends anyway.

Rebecca listened when Elena started talking about how Jeremy had already ditched six of his classes that year. She also talked about Stefan and his odd behavior when she'd gone to see him the day before.

"He's on the rebound and he has raging family issues."

Elena, Bonnie, and Rebecca were in Study Hall, which was held in the library. They were printing out flyers for the comet thing being held that night.

"Well, I knew the second one," Rebecca said. "Damon doesn't even like to talk about Stefan."

Bonnie smiled sympathetically in Elena's direction. "Did he call you to apologize?"

"No. Then I realized we never even really exchanged that stuff. We never got to the calling or texting part."

"That's an important milestone in any relationship," Bonnie said.

"Isn't it?" Elena shrugged. "The timing was wrong anyway."

"When is it ever right?"

"I'm not ready, Bonnie."

"Who is?"

"At least I put myself out there," Elena said, sounding irritated. "I mean, I went to his house and he practically shoved me out the door."

"Well, screw him then," Rebecca said. "It's his loss."

"Maybe he was just having a bad day," Bonnie said, giving Stefan the benefit of the doubt.

"Or maybe he has a split personality," Rebecca teased. "No, it was probably just that Damon was there with you. I've asked Damon what happened between them, but he wouldn't say."

Technically he had avoided the subject. When she'd asked him, he'd answered by asking a question of his own.  
\-----  
The tutoring session that day was slow. Rebecca had gone through everything that her group had given her, but she hadn't had time to do any lesson planning; she just made them do their homework and had helped when they'd needed it.

That didn't matter, though. What mattered was the excited little feeling she got when she saw the blue Camaro pull up in the school parking lot. Her session had ended and she wasn't responsible for her group anymore, so she got her things together and went to the car.

Once she was situated she realized he was listening to some soft rock group. She didn't know who they were but the music was still good so she didn't mind.

"How do you feel about sugar?" Damon asked.

She grinned at him. "Sugar's amazing. Why?"

"I thought we could go to the bakery, eat something sweet, and go into a sugar coma."

"Good plan, bad ending." She laughed and shook her head.

She finally took him in. She looked at his crystal blue eyes first; there was amusement there. Then she took in the rest of him. He was in his usual black attire. She noticed he had a silver and blue ring and she commented on it.

"It's Lapis Lazuli; it protects me."

"Protects you?"

"Yeah. It's a long story."

Damon hadn't really seemed to be the superstitious type, but . . . with all the attacks lately maybe he needed it as a precaution or something. Whatever made him feel better, she guessed.

"Lapis lazuli. Where'd you get it?"

"Stefan has one too. There's a little S in the middle for Salvatore."

"Hm."

Then she touched his hair. It was soft and messy today. It surprised her, but he almost moved back from her touch. It was almost like he wasn't used to anyone touching him out of kindness, or he'd been suspicious of why she was touching him. She didn't say anything about it but she did put it in the back of her mind so she could think about it later.

"You have bed hair," she teased lightly, drawing her hand back. "In the middle of the day."

His black strands were shaggy almost; it was sexy, though - he pulled it off very well. She just hadn't liked that it had fallen in his face. His eyes were too beautiful to hide.

She realized that he was holding onto the steering wheel tightly enough for his skin to turn whiter than it already was. Damon wasn't too pale by any means, but now he seemed to be conflicted and his hands' color was paying the price.

Maybe he didn't like being touched or something.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Damon."

Her fingertips were still tingling from where she'd touched him and she wondered what that was about. It happened every time there was physical contact between them. And maybe that was the whole problem. Damon had felt it too.

Damon suddenly turned his face away from her and she heard his teeth grind as he clenched his jaw. He took a few deep breaths and then he seemed fine. She had no idea what had just happened and Damon had ways of avoiding questions so she didn't even ask.

Once at the bakery they got a table and she ordered two chocolate éclairs. Damon decided to get the same. She insisted on paying this time and he let her.

"So, night of the comet, huh?" Damon said. "Why's it so special?"

She shrugged. "It passed over 145 years ago, hasn't been back since. 'Til now. Personally I don't care about it. I came because you asked me to."

"Well, shouldn't I feel special?" he teased.

"Definitely. Because I'm amazing like that."

Damon's lips twitched like he was fighting back a smile and she grinned at him. She was glad he wasn't acting weird now. The ride here from the school had been awkward; Damon had been distant after the whole teeth-clenching incident. His eyes weren't distant anymore; he was there with her.

Onto a more serious note . . . "Is Elena gonna be safe with Stefan? Emotionally, I mean. She's been through a lot this past summer and she doesn't need anymore drama right now. You told her that he was on the rebound, so is she . . ." Rebecca bit her lip before continuing. "Is that what she is to him?"

Damon looked at her for a moment, like he was considering what exactly to say. "Stefan would never intentionally hurt her. If he did, he'd feel guilty about it forever."

Rebecca nodded knowingly. "Ah, I pegged him for that type. I think my exact thought was 'he's the I'm-dark-and-broody-so-give-me-love type'."

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

Things fell into a comfortable silence and she looked out the window. Kids were playing in the grass across the street; the parents were laughing and keeping watch of their children; there was a face painting booth along with food stands - the popcorn stand was busy. People were setting up chairs and picnic places.

She didn't get what the big deal was. It was just a comet. She thought a meteor shower would've been more exciting herself.

"Why'd you ask?" Damon asked, drawing her out of her reverie.

"Hm?"

"About Elena and Stefan."

"Oh, um, Elena told me about what happened with you guys when she went to your house. She said that he practically shoved her out the door."

"Yeah, he did."

"He's really a people person, huh?" She shook her head. "I think she thinks it was her fault, something she did."

"Mm, no," Damon said. "Our family problems started a long time ago. Not her fault."

She smiled. She realized she did that a lot when she was around Damon. She didn't know why, but she felt at ease around him. She could almost ignore her being-watched feelings. This was different than the easy feelings she had with Elena and Bonnie. She'd felt something shift in her the moment she'd met Damon. It was odd and scary, but also comforting.

"Is this for real? You being nice and sweet?"

He smirked. "I can be very nice and very sweet when I want to be. But I also have moments where I can be the complete opposite. Depends on which Damon I feel like being at the moment."

"Uh-oh. Split personality; not good. Might just have to watch out for that." Rebecca couldn't help but think of what she'd said about Stefan - she had joked about him having a split personality. Maybe it ran in the family.  
\-----  
Once they finished their snacks they left. It was getting dark and they decided to go get a seat on the grass. Damon had a blanket in his car so he went to get it while she mingled.

She saw Caroline talking to a few of her cheerleading friends; Bonnie had just walked into the Grill, and Vicki and Jeremy were talking at the entrance. Rebecca decided to go talk to Vicki because she wanted to know if the girl was okay. And she wanted to know if she remembered anything.

"Hey, Vicki. How're you doing?" She stopped by Jeremy's side. "Matt said you were getting out today."

Rebecca wasn't exactly friends with Vicki - she didn't like how Vicki played with Jeremy's emotions - but she liked her enough to say hi to.

"I'm okay. Fighting with my boss about my schedule. You'd think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day."

"Well, you feelin' okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I hurt."

Rebecca wanted to see the bite mark again but there was a bandage over it.

"The doctor . . . gave you something, right?"

"The kid stuff. Nothin' with an O in it. I think they were onto me."

Jeremy and Vicki grinned before he gave her an orange medicine bottle. Rebecca looked around to make sure nobody important was watching; this wasn't exactly a legal thing she was a part of.

"Here, knock yourself out. Literally."

"Thanks, Jer."

Vicki looked at Rebecca before she took one of the pills. Rebecca knew it was because Vicki wasn't sure what Rebecca thought about stuff like that. That was one good thing about Vicki; she didn't push drugs on other people.

"Hey, I had to ask him for pills too. Go ahead if it'll make you feel better."

Vicki grinned and nodded her way. "Cool. You here with someone?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm here with -" she stopped to look around and jumped a little when a hand landed on her arm.

"Me."

"Him," she said, taking a breath. How did he do that? Jeeze. "Damon, this is Vicki and Jeremy. Jeremy is Elena's younger brother."

"Oh, hi," he said, smiling politely.

"Hey."

Then Vicki just looked at Damon. "I know you."

"Well, that's unfortunate," Damon said.

"Uh, I don't - I don't know how, but your face . . ."

Vicki shook her head and Rebecca arched an eyebrow at the girl's behavior. Vicki excused herself and headed to the bathroom.

"She knows you," Rebecca said. "Or recognizes you."

"I've seen her around," Damon sort of answered. "It's a small town, everybody recognizes everybody else."

"Hm."

Something was trying to make its way into Rebecca's mind, but she wasn't ready to think about what her mind was trying to think about, so she distracted herself . . . with Elena, who had been holding a candle across the street - everyone over there had one - and talking to Stefan. Elena had just walked away from him and Rebecca could tell, even from this distance, that Elena was upset.

"Um, Damon, I'll be right back. I have to make sure she's okay."

"Take your time. I'll go get a drink or something."

"Okay, thanks."

Then she took off after Elena. She found that it was easier to push through the crowd than it normally was for her. Slayer strength came in handy, she realized.

"Elena, wait!" Rebecca caught up with her quickly enough. "Don't go, okay? Forget Stefan for an hour or two. We can find Bonnie and Matt and even Caroline. We'll have drama free fun, okay?"

"Um . . ." Elena looked uncertain. "I don't know, Becca, I . . ."

"Oh, come on! We don't let guys ruin our lives." Rebecca grinned. "Right? Now, let's go."

Elena's lips formed a tight smile and she sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Good."

Rebecca grabbed Elena's arm carefully - Grams' warning that she could hurt someone because she was getting stronger kept running through her head - and led her into the Grill.

Rebecca's promise of a drama-free hour of fun turned out to be an unintentional lie. Vicki went missing, Damon disappeared - he had a tendency to do that- Jeremy was accused of being a drug dealer, and Tyler was accused of forcing himself on Vicki - Rebecca exhibited no surprise at the last one.

Rebecca, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy spent about thirty minutes looking for her, only for her to turn up wondering around the town square. She'd ripped her stitches open from where she'd been bitten, but luckily she wasn't bleeding that bad. She didn't even seem that hurt, but she was high, so that might've been why.

Matt was now re-bandaging Vicki's wound and making sure she was okay. Stefan walked in and Matt thanked him; Stefan had been the one to bring Vicki back.

"Ugh! Just so much drama," Caroline complained. "Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"

Then Caroline glanced at Rebecca almost like she was scared Rebecca would snap.

Rebecca grinned; out of all the people she knew she was the only one who put Caroline in her place when it was needed. "It's okay, Care. I'm in a better mood today."

"Oh, good," she said, relieved. "Yesterday you were acting really freaky."

"Yes, I was. I wasn't feeling well." That was as close to an apology that Caroline was going to get from her.

Then Stefan walked over and asked if they'd seen Elena.

"I think she went home," Bonnie said regretfully. "I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her e-mail. She is big on texting, and you can tell her I said so."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Bonnie handed Stefan a slip of paper with the information on it but yanked her hand back and just stared at him for a minute.

"You okay?" Stefan and Rebecca asked at the same time.

"What happened to you?" Bonnie asked softly. Then she snapped out of it. "That was so rude. Excuse me, sorry."

Bonnie walked off, leaving Stefan and Caroline confused, and leaving Rebecca wanting to know what Bonnie had seen.

"Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's, like, her thing," Caroline explained.

Rebecca didn't even say anything about that; she knew that Caroline didn't believe in the boogedy-boogedy world. That was her prerogative. Rebecca didn't have a choice but to believe.

Stefan looked after Bonnie, concerned. Rebecca couldn't say anything in the way of explanation because Stefan wouldn't understand unless she spelt it out for him. Then he began walking away.

"Uh, wait here," Rebecca told Caroline. "I promise I'll be back."

Then she went after Stefan and caught him at the door. She wasn't being pushy; she was just concerned.

"Stefan, uh, I have to say something."

He turned to her and looked at her, very focused. Jeeze. It wasn't like it was life-altering, what she was about to say. But at least he was paying attention.

"What is it?"

"Elena has a lot of friends who really care about her. I know I don't know you very well, but you act a little strange. I just thought you should know that Elena's like a sister to me, and I take care of what's mine. So please don't hurt her."

It wasn't a threat; it was a warning. She wasn't much into violence by design - she'd need to get over that, she guessed - but there were other ways to make someone miserable. Rebecca wasn't spiteful by nature, but she was very protective of the people she loved. Her friends were actually her family.

Instead of being offended, Stefan smiled. "I promise you, I have no intention of hurting Elena. I'm impressed that you care about her so much."

Rebecca shrugged and grimaced at the same time.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way . . . We should start over. I can forget all the weird stuff that's happened and give you a clean slate. As long as you know where I stand."

"I do," Stefan said sincerely. "It's good you're looking out for her."

She smiled. "Okay, good. So -" she stuck her hand out "- hi, I'm Rebecca."

Stefan accepted her hand and shook. "Hi, I'm Stefan. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She sighed then. "Is Damon still around? He has my stuff in his car again. It's beginning to be a habit."

"Um . . . I'm not sure, but if you can't find him, I can bring your stuff to you tomorrow at school."

"Good. Thanks." She said good-bye to Stefan and then went back to Caroline to do the same. "I'm gonna head home."

"Yeah, me too." Caroline stood up. "Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm good. If Damon isn't here, I'll just walk."

"Okay, well, see you tomorrow."  
\-----  
Like the night of the party, Damon's car was still there so she got her stuff from inside. Then she texted him to see where exactly he was. She didn't get an answer. Part of her was angry; part of her was okay with it because she had left him to take care of Elena; the rest of her was worried that something might've happened to him.

She worried a lot, she realized.

She texted him again to let him know she was walking home and she wanted him to call when he could just so she would know he was okay.

On the way home Rebecca heard this incessant cawing. Weren't birds supposed to be quiet in the dark? She grabbed at her jacket and wrapped it tighter around her. It was mid September and it could get chilly at night.

And she still felt like she was being watched. What was that? Was it her being paranoid? Possible, she guessed.

Then she started hearing footsteps and she stopped walking. The footsteps stopped too. Someone was following her. She then continued, only more quickly. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew when the person was right behind her and she turned around instinctively and swung her fist as she went.

Whoever it was went down.

The person was female. Light brown hair with gray streaks. And an already purple area was appearing on her jaw. She was dressed in a gray business suit and she'd cried out when Rebecca had hit her.

"Oh, God! Are you okay? You scared me."

She helped the woman up and she realized she'd hit an older person. Forty or forty-five maybe.

"Glad to see you're on you're toes," the woman said. "I'm Ms. Gleeson, Watcher."

Watcher? No. Rebecca wasn't ready to make this decision. She didn't want to have to think about this yet.

"You need to be prepared. Most girls are trained all their lives. You need to start training now. Tomorrow after school."

Tomorrow was Friday. She didn't have anything to do tomorrow, but training and fighting wasn't really on her to-do list either.

"Meet me at this address." She handed Rebecca a piece of paper. It was an address to one of the warehouses that had been abandoned downtown.

"I don't have a car. It'll take a while for me to get there."

"I can pick you up from school. Take you there."

"Fine," Rebecca said, not seeing any point in arguing. "Two-thirty."

When Rebecca got home she was surprised to see that Chelsea was already there. It wasn't bad; it saved her from having to go get her. She was just surprised. Her aunt Tina was there too.

"Uh . . . Hi."

Tina was Jessica's older sister by about 3 years. Tina had the same green eyes Rebecca did; her mother had had green eyes too.

"Your father called me. Said you might need help, that you've been acting strange."

Rebecca smiled, but she was still confused. "Uh, I guess maybe I have."

Tina had been holding Chelsea but when the baby had seen Rebecca she'd reached for her. Rebecca took her automatically and kissed her cheek. She was a little warm.

"Is she running a fever?"

"She's fine. I'm here to help, I hope you don't mind."

It was weird, but Rebecca did mind. Chelsea was her responsibility, not anyone else's. She was maybe a little possessive of her things and her people, but . . . she thought that was okay.

"Are you living here now?"

"For a while. It's just a trial run."

Tina didn't have any children of her own and she could work from home, so Rebecca knew she'd be there for Chelsea when she couldn't, but there was still the thing of not wanting to share with other people.

"Well, I guess it makes sense," she said begrudgingly. "I do have a busy year ahead of me."

Rebecca liked her aunt, she did, but Tina hadn't been around much since her mother had died and having her here now in the house, living there, would destroy Rebecca's much needed routine.

"I guess we should put the little one to bed."

"Oh, she sleeps in my room."

"That's gonna bite you in the butt sooner or later, she's going to have trouble sleeping without you."

"I don't mind."  
\-----  
The next afternoon Rebecca went with Ms. Gleeson to the warehouse like she'd said she would. The Watcher had lesson plans for her training and Rebecca was able to look through them. Rebecca was glad she'd taken gymnastics for the past three years. She was sure her body wouldn't have been able to move as well if she hadn't.

Rebecca learned that Ms. Gleeson's first name was Diana and that she was relentless. Even when Rebecca thought she would fall over from exhaustion Diana pressed her for more. Diana said it would keep her alive, going on when she thought she couldn't.

They spent the weekend sparring, both going back and forth. Rebecca would almost win but it was never enough. Rebecca knew she could just pick Diana up and toss the Watcher across the room and win, but she didn't want to hurt the woman. She already felt a pang of guilt every time she saw the bruise on the woman's face.

Diana was also a great lecturer; Rebecca learned more than she'd ever wanted to know about vampires. Vampires got more powerful with age; they looked human until they fed; most of their emotions led to hunger - they couldn't help it, it was their curse; vampires had short tempers - they could be fine one minute and then snap the next.

Diana never ran out of things to tell her. Diana wasn't hard to get along with exactly, but Rebecca wasn't comfortable around her. Diana was stuffy and British and she expected nothing but perfection from Rebecca.

As the first week went by Rebecca became more and more worn out - mentally and physically. She began sleeping in class and her grades began slipping. Everyone was noticing how different she was becoming. She'd withdrawn from life. She no longer tutored because she couldn't find any pleasure in it. She didn't do anything, really, except train. She tried being there for her friends, she still helped them and was there for them when they needed her, but it was so hard lying to them about what was going on with her. Rebecca was innately honest, so it wasn't easy for her to be sneaky.

Elena and Bonnie were worried; Caroline speculated; Stefan brooded; Damon popped in and out of her life whenever it suited him and she got used to it. The only person she could really talk to was Sheila. Sheila, who was a witch, and had all these witch-y books. A Book of Shadows, something outsiders weren't supposed to see but Sheila didn't mind Rebecca seeing since she already knew the Bennett secret.

"Do these actually work?" Rebecca asked, looking at the book. "They sound like poems to me."

"Those are the English translations. In the original Latin they don't sound so poetic."

"Hm." She began reading through some of the spells.

Hear these words, hear the rhyme  
Heed the hope within my mind  
Send me back to where I'll find  
What I wish in place and time

"You shouldn't read those out loud," Sheila warned. "They don't always work, but they can . . ."

Whatever the spell could do . . . Rebecca didn't find out because everything faded out. Sheila's voice, the room she was in. She'd fainted . . . and then woke up on a dirt road, with a carriage - horse and buggy, what the hell? - near her. A man was tapping her lightly on the face and speaking quite urgently to someone else.

Rebecca opened her eyes, dazed, and sat up.

"Keep still, you may have broken something."

She saw the voice belonged to an older man - her dad's age maybe. He was dressed in period clothes from the late 1800s, and she closed her eyes again briefly thinking maybe she wasn't really awake.

What the hell was going on? Where was she? When was she? Then she heard a muffled scream and her eyes shot open. The older man's companion was . . . Being bitten by a vampire. And just like that she sprung into action. Part of her wanted to say 'give me a break' but she didn't.

There were woods on either side of her so she yanked at a sturdy branch. It came away easily in her hands. There was nothing she could do for the now dead victim, but she could still save the other man. She kicked the vampire in the head and the creature fell to the ground. Instinctively, she slammed the wood through its heart and she stared, morbidly curious, as the creature turned gray and crusty. It had . . . Mummified. So that was what a dead vampire looked like.

She just stared. She was . . . fascinated in a very bad way. Part of her was giddy because she'd done it. Easily. The other part was in shock because she'd killed somebody. Someone was dead - really dead, not up-walking-around dead - because of her.

"Miss?" The older man's voice was far away, but she could still tell he'd been startled. "Are you well?"

Rebecca wasn't able to respond; everything went dark. She'd fainted again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that spell does not belong to me - it's from Charmed. I promise that her being back in time is not going to change Damon in any drastic way. I like him how he is, sarcasm and homicidal tendencies and all, I wouldn't change him even if I could. And she''ll only be back there for maybe 5-ish chapters and that's only because I draw things out.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Thanks.


	5. Chapter Five

Rebecca was in the woods. She knew she was getting ready to die, to be killed. The creature in front of her had fangs and red eyes and there were veins protruding under them. It was a vampire, a hunter, a predator. Rebecca was the prey.

She was frozen, not able to breathe. She was terrified but accepting of the fact that she was meant to die this way; she was the Slayer, after all. She'd accepted her duty but that didn't mean she wanted to die. No, no, she was seventeen. She didn't want to die.

The vampire lunged and -

Rebecca startled awake and realized she was in a carriage with they guy she'd saved. Like she'd thought before . . . He did look around her dad's age. Late forties, early fifties. He had dark hair with gray throughout.

"How are you feeling?" The man's voice was stilted. He was probably pretending he wasn't afraid anymore.

"I'm okay." She was not going to go on about how she was not okay at all to someone she didn't really know.

"That was a vampire you killed, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered. "Sir," she added as an after thought. And then it registered . . . "You don't seem terribly surprised by that."

"Demons have inhabited these parts and the surrounding areas for a while now. It's the war; the bleeding soldiers draw them in."

"War? Where am I? What year is this?"

"Mystic Falls, Virginia. 1864." The man looked at her strangely. "Did you hit your head?"

"I'm . . . I don't know."

1864? How the hell . . .? The damn spell. It had actually worked. Oh, God. She was really back in time. She was in 1864 . . . She'd done a time traveling spell?

"Do you know who you are? And the state of your dress . . ."

"Um . . . Rebecca. My name is Rebecca." Though she couldn't explain why she was in a t-shirt and jeans. And the sneakers? Nope, she couldn't explain that. "I don't . . . know how I got here."

"You fought that demon with such ease," the man said, awed. "You do that often?"

"First time for me."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No." Obviously she didn't because she wasn't supposed to know how she'd ended up here.

"Well, you do now," the man said firmly. "I'm Giuseppe Salvatore."

Salvatore? This man was an ancestor to the Salvatore's she knew in the future? Or her present? How would that work exactly?

"Stone is my last name." Her family was not one of the founding families, so she was safe to give her last name.

Rebecca fell silent then and tried to focus on anything but the fact that she was now in 1864 and had no way of getting back home.

God, she was going to freak out.

No, no, she was going to focus on the fact that it was nighttime and the temperature was nice. But there was the usual Virginia humidity. Apparently that never changed.

Crap, it wasn't working.

She needed to get back home. If not for herself, than for Chelsea. Yeah, the girl had Tina now, but Chelsea was used to Rebecca. She didn't know how her sister would react to her not being there.

"I may have clothes for you to wear. We can get you fitted for more when you're feeling better."

1864 clothes? As in corsets and gowns and ew! She knew that wasn't what she should be worried about, but she didn't want to focus on the fact that she didn't know how to get back home.

God, her father. He was probably freaking out. Though some time away might do him some good, she wasn't sure. And her friends, especially Bonnie and Elena. And, uh . . . Oh, Sheila. She'd disappeared from Sheila's house because she'd . . . read a spell out loud.

Note to self: Don't read magic books out loud. Ever.

Eventually Rebecca and Giuseppe pulled up to a beautiful white Colonial house. Once inside the house, Giuseppe ordered one of his servants to show Rebecca to a guest room; he promised her a tour when she felt better.

She'd be able to take everything in better later. The only thing she wanted to do now was be alone and cry.  
\-----  
The next morning Rebecca awoke feeling not rested and saw someone was in her room. Another servant, probably, there to help her get dressed. Mr. Salvatore had done what he'd said and found her some dresses. She wondered who they belonged to.

She was grateful that they were very simple. Yes, there were corsets, but there was no hoop; there were, however, layers upon layers to make the bottom poofy.

"Mizz Stone, feelin' better?" The servant's speech made her 'better' sound like 'bettah'.

"Yes. Um . . . Who are you?"

A colored woman - shudder, she was back in the slave days - of course. Rebecca smiled and grimaced at the same time.

"Sorry, Mizz. Tabitha is my name."

"Tabitha." The woman was wearing a brown loose-fitting dress. She was heavy-set but healthy looking. But her face was worn; she'd had a hard life. "You can call me Rebecca."

She looked a little shocked, Tabitha did. She probably wasn't used to people being nice to her. Just because of her skin color.

"When you're finished dressing Master Salvatore would like to see you downstairs. Just follow the smell of breakfast."

"Okay, I'll be there shortly."

Tabitha left the room - she'd obviously only been there to see that Rebecca woke without a problem.

Rebecca picked a simple long-sleeved blue dress that flowed down to her ankles. She left her hair down, but brushed it when she found a soft-bristled brush on the vanity set in the room.

Her room was big enough for a chamber pot - God, she was going to miss plumbing and electricity and all the other modern conveniences she was used to.

God, I really am back in time, she thought, not for the first time. How was she going to pull this off? She was a seventeen-year-old who had been living in 2009. She didn't know how to be an 1864 girl.

She hid her cell phone because it was useless here and because if anyone saw her with it they'd probably think she was a witch. She then did as Tabitha had requested and followed her nose. Surprisingly, the food smelled familiar. Eggs, bacon, sausage. Normal stuff.

Normal flew out the window when she got to the dining room because Stefan Salvatore - the Stefan from her time period - was seated at the table. His hair was different, but it was still undeniably him.

When Giuseppe, who was also there, noticed her presence he and Stefan rose out of politeness because she was a female and invited her to sit with them. He introduced Stefan as his son and then told her his other son, Damon, was away at war.

Damon had been in the war as a Confederate soldier?

God, Stefan and Damon were . . . vampires in her time period. Her mind had wanted to connect the dots, but she hadn't let it before. But they were human at the moment. She wondered what had happened to make them turn.

Then another thing popped into her head that had nothing at all to do with herself and everything to do with the rest of the world. What if she did something that changed everything? She'd seen Butterfly Effect and Back to the Future. She knew what messing with the space-time continuum could do, though she'd never believed in it until now.

"Are you alright?" Stefan's voice pushed away the fog in her head. "You've gone a little pale."

"She just needs a little air," Giuseppe said, not letting her answer for herself. "She's had quite a bad time of it. You were going to the stables later; why not take her with you?"

"Yes, Father," Stefan replied dutifully and smiled her way; Rebecca noticed he hadn't developed a brooding forehead yet. "I shall show you around the estate if you wish."

Rebecca smiled politely. "Thank you. That would be nice."

"Yes, Veritas is two hundred acres," Giuseppe started. "When I first settled here it was only one acre, but it has expanded."

"Veritas? That's Latin for truth, isn't it?" Rebecca asked, and was almost insulted when both men seemed shocked that she knew that. Then she remembered girls back then weren't supposed to be very learned. She would either be hated or loved for her knowledge, but she would not pretend to be less than she was just to please these people.

"Yes," Giuseppe said. "People should always fight for the truth, don't you think?"

"I like to think I'm a truthful person," Rebecca said diplomatically.

Rebecca ate breakfast in silence. The servants from the kitchen brought in the cooked food and then, after that, a fruit salad. That was what Rebecca ate since the other stuff looked like a big pile of grease. The fruit, however, was actually fresh and was better than any fruit she'd had in a while.

After breakfast, though, Stefan did as he'd said he would and took her outside. They had to go past a beautiful garden and through a path that had oaks on either side. Giuseppe had warned them to stay close - apparently he hadn't told Stefan about his encounter the night before.

Once in the stable Rebecca was confronted with a big black horse. Stefan began brushing the animal down and asked if she'd like to try.

She declined. "I've - I've never really been around horses."

"Well, she's not dangerous. You can pet her if you want. Her skin is tough; you won't hurt her."

Rebecca took a timid step forward and slid her hand against the horse's nose. She'd seen it done in movies before. The animal leaned into her hand. The skin was tough, but it was also smooth and it seemed the horse liked to be touched.

Rebecca noticed there were two stable boys who were tending to the other horses - there were four others - and then there was an overseer for the stable boys.

"Father said you don't know how you got here," Stefan said, breaking the silence.

"I don't. I woke up in the road."

Stefan looked at her with sympathy but didn't say anything. There was nothing to say.

Rebecca wondered what the people back home were thinking about her. She'd changed so much in such a short time. She'd quit all her activities and now she was missing. Elena and Bonnie would probably be freaking out. Maybe Sheila would try to explain things to Bonnie. Caroline and everybody else would probably just think she had run away. It was no secret that she'd had enough of her dad's issues. Nobody would understand.

Except for Stefan. He would be able to remember these new things, right? And right now . . . Right now she was stuck. She'd seen enough witchcraft movies to know that spells couldn't just go away. Someone had to undo the magic or the spell had to run its course. It would end after the spell succeeded.

What had the spell been for anyway? Why was she here?

Hear these words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within my mind.

Had she been hoping for anything? Peace of mind maybe . . . But she didn't need to go back in time to get that, right?

Send me back to where I'll find what I wish in place and time.

Okay . . . Obviously there was something here she was wishing for and needed to find. But that didn't make sense. What could she possibly want from this time period?  
\-----  
For the first week Rebecca kind of just walked around the grounds in a sense of unreality. She still couldn't believe she was there in 1864. At night she would cry in her room . . . Bed chamber, that was what she was supposed to call it. Her breathing would reach the hyperventilation level and she'd either pass out or cry herself to sleep.

She hardly ever saw Giuseppe, but she saw Stefan every day. They got along okay. He made sure she was comfortable and always had what she needed. They talked about books, most of which she'd read in school at some point in the recent past - or would it be future since she was technically in the past now?

Giuseppe had been nice enough to follow through on his promise of more clothes. There was a ball coming up soon and he'd asked her to be there. Sadly, she would have to get used to wearing a corset. Up to this point she hadn't been forced to wear them.

On the last day of the first week that she was there Damon came home. She'd heard him and his father arguing. Stefan assured her that that was pretty par for the course. Damon and his dad had never gotten along because Damon thought for himself. Well, Damon had told her that he hadn't gotten along with his dad.

Even through the anger, Giuseppe was perfectly polite when he introduced her to his other son. Damon had kissed her hand, much like he'd done the first time he'd met her in the future. She blushed this time, too, and had lowered her eyes before looking up at him again.

Rebecca made a mock curtsey and Damon grinned; his eyes danced with amusement.

"It's nice to meet you, Damon."

"Likewise, Miss Rebecca."

This time it was he who complimented her eyes. He liked how they sparkled like emeralds when she smiled, which caused her to smile.

In the days that followed Giuseppe began to talk. People's animals were getting killed - throats torn open, bodies drained of blood; vampire. Apparently it was causing quite a stir in this town.

Rebecca was of the opinion that if the vampires were feeding on animals then at least they weren't killing humans, and if they weren't killing humans, then it was none of her business. So she went about her life spending time with Damon when she could. He seemed to like her - his eyes lit up when she walked into a room he was in and vice versa. This Damon was just as playful as vampire Damon - maybe not as flirty, but she didn't mind.

Right now she was in the stable with both the Salvatore brothers and the stable boys. The stable boys were Tabitha's sons, and like Tabitha they had been surprised when she'd told them just to call her Rebecca. Apparently they thought she was their superior and therefore she would treat them as such.

Whatever. A person was a person to her. Skin color didn't matter. Or social status. Personality was what mattered.

The two stable boys were around fourteen and their names were Emmett and Jonas. Rebecca had watched them work a few times and had offered to help. The overseer, Joseph, had been shocked and had told her it was very unladylike to offer help to servants. She'd ignored him, for the most part.

The servants of the household called her Mizz Becca. They were almost reverential to her, which made her a little uncomfortable but she knew it was because she treated them as her equals and not as her inferiors.

Stefan and Damon were friendly with the help, but their father always expected perfection. Didn't he know that nobody was perfect in this world? Both Stefan and Damon were sweet and smart and the three of them got along well. She was comfortable around them both. Stefan was good to talk to and Damon made her feel free.

Stefan was the more serious of the two brothers. Damon was more . . . the wild type. Rebecca liked it. Her life was boring aside from the Slayer thing and she needed some excitement in it. He wasn't only wild, though. He was sweet too. He was gentle with her, always. He didn't know if it was because she was a girl or because he liked her, but he was never harsh or demanding. If she didn't know better she would've considered him soft spoken.

Damon, soft spoken? Wow . . . The one in the future was definitely not soft spoken. It was almost funny to think that about him.

"Come on, Miss Rebecca, up you get."

Damon put his hands on her waist and began lifting, but she grabbed his arms.

"Up?" she asked.

"On the horse," he said. He had stopped lifting, though, and was now waiting for her to give him the go ahead.

"Oh. No. No, no, no, no, no. I am not -" She looked into his blue eyes and stopped rambling. She just went with, "I don't think I'll feel secure if I have to ride sideways."

That was how girls rode when they were wearing a dress, right? Side-saddle? She was not getting on a horse if she wasn't able to hold on with her legs; she might fall.

"We will be on either side of you," Damon said. "Ready to catch you, should anything happen."

Damon still had his hands on her waist and she still had her hands on his arms. It was probably not appropriate but it seemed neither of them cared. Damon's eyes were so . . . sincere that she couldn't say no.

"Fine . . . But don't let me fall."

"Never," Damon said, smiling softly. His eyes had softened exponentially and she felt her insides doing the same.

He placed her up on the horse and she waited until she felt safe and until her nerves were calm before she let go of him.

"Okay, lead the way," she said, grabbing onto the reins, praying she wouldn't fall.

Damon was studying her apprehensively, so she smiled reassuringly. She was touched he cared so much about her safety and comfort.

Stefan began going on about wanting to go to the University of Virginia - wow, that was around back then? - and how he wanted to study to be a doctor. Giuseppe wanted him to wait until the war was over to go away to university. So . . . Sending Damon away to fight in the war was okay, but Stefan going to college wasn't? What kind of logic was that?

Then they were talking about the new store that was opening in town, an apothecary. A woman named Pearl and her daughter Anna had recently moved to Mystic Falls and Pearl was going to run it. Rebecca hadn't been into town yet, but she was hoping to soon. Sadly, this was a time period where women were not allowed to do much on their own.

As the ride went on she began to slip around the saddle.

"I'm going to fall off," she said, grabbing onto Damon's shoulders after letting go of the reins. "Help me down?"

"Of course."

A she was helped down her body pressed against his and she noticed his breathing hitched and her breathing stopped altogether for a second. When her feet were on the ground Damon respectfully stepped away from her, but she could see his cheeks were flushed.

She smiled widely, openly because Damon Salvatore was blushing - she was making him blush. It was adorable. Human Damon was so cute.

"You have the sweetest smile I have ever seen," he said softly, almost whispering. The honesty in his voice took her breath away - again. She was going to die of oxygen deprivation if she wasn't careful. Then Damon seemed to realize what he'd said. "I'm sorry. That was terribly inappropriate."

"Not at all," she assured him while feeling extremely happy with his compliment.

"Ahem," Stefan teased. "I am still standing here."

"Sorry, brother." Damon looked at Stefan but then smiled Rebecca's way. "I was so entranced I forgot you were there."

Rebecca bit her lip so she wouldn't end up grinning like an idiot. But now Damon wasn't the only one blushing; he still had charm, that much was obvious.  
\-----  
As Rebecca spent time with Damon she noticed that he was strong and fast for a human. The war, probably. He had no problem keeping up even when Stefan lagged behind. Damon seemed to be surprised that she could run as fast as she could. They played a sort of cat-and-mouse game. She would run and he would chase, because he was always the cat.

She noticed that Damon had lines around his beautiful eyes and she didn't know if they were stress lines of laugh lines; he did like having a good time.

It was still September and the weather was still warm. Damon had planned a picnic spread for them, assorted with all her favorite foods. Basically he'd packed anything he'd noticed that she had a taste for and most of it was sweet stuff.

Rebecca couldn't believe it, but she appeared to appeal to him on some level. She appealed to him even though she knew she must act strange compared to other girls who lived in this time period. Maybe he liked her because she was an oddity; that thought terrified her because what if he lost interest?

Damon had set everything up near the pond by their house. Though pond was a loose term; it was bigger than a pond and the water was pretty much clear. The afternoon sun beat down on them pleasantly as they talked and ate and then talked some more. He always said something to make her laugh, which would then make him laugh. He obviously liked making her happy.

They'd been spending a lot of time together, but never alone until now. This date - right word for the time period? - would decide whether or not she would continue falling for him.

Damn. She was falling for him. Hard. Bad, bad, bad. She didn't know how long she'd be in this time period and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him by just disappearing. And according to what had happened when the spell started, that was exactly what would happen. She'd just disappear. But she couldn't just stay away from him, not now that she knew him. Not now that he was a part of her life.

When she looked up at him he was suppressing a smile.

"What?" she asked, flushing from the attention, which made him smirk. Human Damon liked that she blushed too.

"I'm trying to figure out who you are." He smiled. "You're hiding something. You act like you don't remember anything so you don't have to talk about it."

She swallowed against the nervousness bubbling up because she'd been found out.

"Don't worry. I wasn't going to tell anyone. I promise. It's just you're difficult to figure out."

"I'm a mystery, huh?"

"Definitely."

Rebecca sighed heavily. How the hell was she supposed to explain herself to him? She didn't want to lie to him because he'd be hurt and angry if he found out.

"I . . . went to sleep at a friend's house . . . And when I woke up I was in the middle of the road, and now here I am."

Her chest tightened and her throat began hurting with unshed tears at words she'd left unspoken for too long. But, hey, he'd asked so she was going to be honest - or as honest as she could realistically be.

"I don't have anyone anymore. I don't know how I got here and I can't go back."

She covered her face with her hands and tried to hide the tears as they fell. She wasn't comfortable sharing her pain with others and she was surprised when Damon gently removed her hands from her face and wiped the wetness away himself.

That was when she noticed the difference between human Damon and vampire Damon. This Damon was sincerely concerned and sympathetic and wanted to make her feel better. He wasn't playing a game. His eyes were so . . . expressive. There was a whole range of emotions flickering through them and she had a hard time comprehending many of them. Vampire Damon's eyes weren't like that. They hardly showed anything he didn't want others to see.

But now she could tell that he was upset because he'd upset her. Then suddenly he'd lifted her up off the ground and placed her on his lap where she froze for about ten seconds before deciding she didn't mind crying in front of - or on - this Damon. He was genuinely concerned for her and it was okay to open up to someone like that. Though she did feel kind of silly being held on his lap like a child. She was glad she was not wearing a poofy dress. She was just wearing a simple white one.

Damon didn't say anything while she cried, he just held her until she was done. She got his shirt all wet with tears, but he didn't seem to mind. She liked being close to him, she realized. It felt natural and right and good. Meant to be, almost.

It was ridiculous, of course, even entertaining that notion. They literally came from different worlds. In her time period he was old enough to be her great-great-great-great grandfather.

"Feeling better?" he asked softly, beginning to caress her hair.

"Mm. Thank you."

"Not a problem." His hand went from her hair to her cheek. "You're eyes aren't sparkling anymore." He sounded seriously aggrieved.

"No. But I'll be okay. It's just hard."

"You're not alone, Rebecca. Stefan and I are very fond of you."

"I sensed that." Stefan was more reserved, but Damon was very open with what he was feeling. That was odd since she knew him in the future, too, and saw how he was then.

Rebecca pressed her forehead against his and watched his eyes close peacefully. The only problem with that was she couldn't look into them anymore. Then she kissed him softly on the side of his mouth and his eyes snapped open; he obviously hadn't been expecting that.

"Was that inappropriate?" She blushed.

"If I say yes, would it stop you from doing it again?" he teased, but the question was a very real one.

"No. If people want to talk, let them. They don't really know me."

Besides it was just one little kiss, what could that hurt?

Damon smiled genuinely, like he'd really appreciated her answer. Then he kissed her properly on the mouth this time. She felt a thrill run through her. She'd been kissed before, certainly, but it had never felt right, like this. It was soft and sweet and tender, it made her want to cry again, only for an entirely different reason this time. No one had treated her with such care before; no one had made her feel so special.

She pressed her mouth more firmly against his, giving him permission to deepen the kiss. Her hands went to the back of his neck and caressed softly; his hands went to her waist. He didn't react oddly to her touch like vampire Damon did. This Damon was probably used to the affection; she'd seen Stefan and Damon hug many times.

Not to mention he was in the war. Soldiers had to take their pleasure anywhere they could get it. Then she wondered if that was all this was to him. An amusement, a distraction. Was that what she was?

When she pulled away she noticed Damon was confused and slightly disappointed, but not angry.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just . . . What is this? What am I to you? You're older than me, so I know you're used to intimate relationships, but I don't want that." She flushed when she remembered they were in quite the intimate position already. "I mean, I don't want just that. So if that's all this is to you then -"

He interrupted her by kissing her again. She was caught between being annoyed and being appreciative. She'd seen movies where she'd felt like slapping the guy for cutting the girl off mid sentence, but in this instance she found she didn't really mind. Damon was still being soft and sweet and he wasn't mad she'd asked what she had.

"This is two people who like each other getting to know each other better. You are rather secretive; I hardly know anything about you."

Her head fell to his shoulder and she whispered, "Ask me a question. Ask me anything." She could hardly keep everything a secret after the way he'd just kissed her.

She would be as honest as possible.

"You said that . . . You didn't have anyone. Did something happen to them?" He was asking carefully; he obviously didn't want to upset her again.

"I don't know. But they're not here."

That was true enough. She didn't know and they weren't there. She was hoping everyone she cared about was safe and had moved on without her; she hoped they hadn't spent too much time worrying.

"Some of the people I knew I can definitely do without, but I miss most of them. Um . . . My mom died about eight months ago giving birth to my sister. I don't get along with my dad. We argue a lot."

She wondered how bad things were between Chelsea and her dad now that she was gone. She wondered if things had escalated at all. Or maybe they had gotten better now - maybe Robert would have no choice but to step up and be a father now.

"My dad is an alcoholic and he refuses to take care of Chelsea. He blamed her for our mother dying even though there was no way it could have been prevented. My aunt is there now, helping. Um . . . I have friends who I consider to be family, siblings of a sort."

"Tell me about them," Damon said, sounding genuinely interested.

"Okay. There's Elena. She's sweet - a little nosy, but . . . she cares about others more than she cares about herself. There's Bonnie, she's a good friend; she's like a sister to me. Uh . . . There's Caroline; I tolerate her for the other two. Matt is like the older brother I never had; he looks out for us girls. Then there's Jeremy - that's Elena's brother. He's a little troubled. He and Elena lost their parents recently. He's fifteen, she's seventeen."

Damon listened with interest and then asked her to tell him about herself.

"Okay, um . . . Number one: I hate talking about myself."

She laughed a little and he smiled at her admittance.

"Do it anyway," he prompted softly.

She bit her lip nervously. Her life, before the whole Slayer thing, had been boring and redundant. What was she supposed to say?

"Okay, then. But after, you have to tell me about you too, okay?"

"Sounds fair."

She looked into his eyes to make sure he was being honest and when she was satisfied that he was being she began speaking.

"My life was based on routine. It was safe, never changing. I liked it that way for a while. Then I realized I wasn't exactly living life; I was just existing. But . . . I was too scared to change it. I knew what people expected of me, what I was supposed to do. So I did it. I don't want to be that person, but I'm scared of disappointing people. There's a whole other side of me that my friends don't know about."

She realized that, as she was speaking, everything she said was the truth. It terrified her, being this honest and open with someone.

"More recently, as me and my father started fighting, I spent less and less time at home. I kept finding things to keep me busy, away from him. It was so hard to be happy at home. I'm actually glad I'm not there at the moment."

She ran her fingernails across the back of his neck because she was happy she was with him. She smiled when she felt him shiver slightly. She understood the feeling.

"Um . . . I used to write," she admitted. "Songs and poems mostly, but I haven't had much time to do it lately. Or much inspiration."

"A female writer? Most people look down on those." Damon was teasing; she could tell because of the half smile on his face.

"I don't care," Rebecca said honestly. In her time period they were pretty popular. "I like it. It's one of the things I sincerely enjoy in life. Um . . . Music. I like music. I used to sing, but not so much anymore. People say I'm good, I don't know."

She'd been the female soloist in her junior high choir; she'd stopped when she'd reached the ninth grade. She'd also played the piano. She was just a creative person. She loved everything that involved expressing yourself through creativity. That was why she'd gotten along with Jeremy so well, she thought, because he was an artist too.

"Will you sing something for me one day?" Damon asked, his eyes and voice tempting her.

She flushed slightly and looked away so she wouldn't give in right away. "Maybe." She hadn't sang or played in front of anybody in a long time.

"Yes," he said, "was supposed to be your answer."

"Well, I said maybe. It depends."

What could she sing here, in this time period? He wouldn't know the song and it wouldn't fit with anything 1864 had to offer. But she didn't fit in 1864 either; she always had to remind herself of things she wasn't supposed to be doing.

"Your turn," she said. "Things about you."

She decided it was time to move off his lap so she did and then curled against his side. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder comfortably. Apparently, now that the awkward first kiss was over - or the not so awkward first kiss was over - he was okay with being affectionate.

"May as well start at the beginning, yes?" He took a deep breath and Rebecca nodded. "Stefan's and my mom died when we were young. Stefan doesn't remember her much, but I do. She was . . . She deserved someone better than Father." He said the word as if it offended him. "Mother was sunny and always laughing, she was always happy. It flummoxed father endlessly."

Flummoxed? Even though the topic of conversation was less than funny, Rebecca had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at that word coming out of Damon's mouth.

"I will admit I was a handful when I was a child."

"You're a handful now," Rebecca teased and Damon grinned unabashedly. "Go on."

"Mother didn't care. Grass stains, muddy clothes. It drove Father crazy, but that was half the fun."

They both laughed at that. Enjoying driving people insane - she could totally see that. It was a little petty, but she could still see it.

"Classic naughty boy, huh?" she teased, knocking him in the chest with the back of her hand. Then more seriously, "I'm really sorry about your mom. You loved her, I can tell, and I know how hard it is to lose someone you love."

"Hm. Father became worse after she passed away. He wouldn't even let us grieve properly. He removed most of Mother's things a few days after she died, stored them in the attic. He didn't even leave her picture out to honor her memory."

She pictured all that happening in her head. She knew grief could make people do weird and sometimes awful things.

"Sometimes," Rebecca began, "sometimes an awful person is less awful when they're with the one they love. When they lose that person it's like they lose their sense of self. They say and do things they normally wouldn't. Does . . . that make sense?"

"Yes."

Damon looked at her and she noticed he was looking at her with something very close to admiration, so she ducked her head briefly.

"You remind me of her. She forgave everyone's faults even though some people don't deserve it."

"Right. Some people . . . You have to forgive them because they need it, not because they deserve it." She bit her lip, trying to suppressing the sympathy she had for him; he probably didn't want her pity. "That was when you started watching out for Stefan, isn't it?"

No, it wasn't obvious like Rebecca's taking care of Chelsea, but it was a completely different situation with Damon. Stefan was not a baby, he didn't need taking care of; he just needed looking after.

"Someone had to; Father wasn't going to. Father sneered whenever one of us shed a tear over Mother; he thought it was weak."

"Crying over someone you love is not weak," she exclaimed, horrified at the thoughts that Giuseppe must've driven into his sons' heads. "Horrid, bigoted man."

"Time went by. I started thinking for myself. Father hated it. I'm the bad son, always disobeying."

"Doing what you think is right and disobeying are two very different things. Besides, sometimes what you want and what other people think is best . . . Well, I know it can cause hard feelings between people, but you should never do anything you don't want to do."

She realized she should follow her own advice, but she kind of missed carefree Damon at the moment.

Damon smiled, but then his eyes took on a dark look. "I agree with that. Last time I listened to Father . . . was when he wanted me to join the war. It's . . . I'm not going back."

Rebecca didn't say anything to that. She just moved closer to him, whatever that was worth. She couldn't imagine the horrors he'd witnessed on the field. She knew that death changed people, seeing death did even more damage.

"I can't fight for something I don't believe in."

"So don't," she said simply. "It's your decision and it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks. Do what you want."

She vaguely wondered, not for the first time, if she was changing anything too drastically. She knew things wouldn't stay the same, not completely. Things had been set on a different path just by her being there. She just wondered if the words she was saying were going to do more harm than good.

"Father is planning an end of summer dinner and dance," Damon began, obviously changing the subject. "Will you allow me to escort you?"

"I would be honored to go with you, Damon," she said, accepting the subject change gracefully. She grabbed onto his hand, which he allowed her to keep hold of. "Um . . . I don't know how to dance, though." Not the dances that existed in 1864 anyway.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you. It's all in the leading."  
\-----  
On the way back to the house Damon and Rebecca stopped by the stable because they'd noticed Stefan leading his horse into the building. Rebecca heard a weird whooshing sound, and turned to look at the noise.

Emmett, one of the stable boys, was about to be whipped. What had he done to deserve such punishment? Emmett was maybe fourteen, he was a child. Nobody should mistreat a child, no matter the reason.

Rebecca rushed forward and as the whip flashed toward the boy she let the leather strip slash across her own arm where it wrapped around a few times and she yanked it away from the overseer of the stable. Pain shot up her arm, but she ignored it for the most part.

"How dare you interfere?" Joseph said.

"How dare you mistreat a child?" She had half a mind to turn the whip on him, just to see how he liked it.

The man's eyes flashed in anger and he drew his hand back to strike her, but Damon interfered this time. He'd grabbed the man's arm before he could even make the blow land.

"Don't you lay a hand on her, Joseph. And leave the stable boys alone."

"He wasn't doing his job."

Damon's usually soft blue eyes were now hard and angry and they had a cold, electric look to them. His eyes changed minutely with his emotions, Rebecca realized. That was good to know.

"He will have a harder time doing his job with a sore back, will he not?" The question was rhetorical. "You may leave."

Damon had been too shocked to do anything about Rebecca's interference before. He had never been around a woman who had cared enough to interfere with a servant's punishment. But when Joseph had been about to strike Rebecca something in him had snapped. Rebecca was a sweet person; she didn't deserve to be mistreated. Ever. It had been brave of her to step in to protect someone beneath her status. It had stunned him when she hadn't flinched when Joseph had raised his hand to her. Either Rebecca hadn't been scared or she was used to being mistreated. Hopefully it wasn't the latter.

Damon had an irrational anger at the thought of anyone hurting Rebecca. He'd felt protective of her from the moment he'd met her, he was very attached to her.

Joseph had left and now Rebecca was comforting Emmett even though her arm was bleeding from taking a lashing from the whip. He went to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Come on. We'll get you both inside. We'll take care of you."

Damon helped Rebecca; Stefan helped Emmett. Emmett had already been hit twice before Rebecca had stepped in. They helped them to the parlor of the house. Damon knew he needed to take care of Rebecca's wound or it might get infected.

When he got her by herself he began cleaning her cuts with alcohol. He noticed she bit her lip to keep from crying out from the sting.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You shouldn't have done that. You saw Joseph, what he was going to do to you, what he did do to you. It would've been worse had I not been there. He would've hurt you."

Rebecca lowered her head briefly, but he tilted her chin back up.

"I'm not angry with you. Just be careful from now on. And if Joseph tries anything, come to me. Promise me."

"Okay," she said softly. "As long as you're not angry."

"I'm not. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

She smiled and said, "I know. But nothing's going to happen to me, Damon. I can . . . handle myself if Joseph tries anything."

His eyes closed as she brought her hand to his face and caressed gently with her fingers. It felt right, him being comforted by her. Her touch was soothing yet thrilling at the same time. She had a strange yet exciting affect on him.

He'd never met a woman quite like Rebecca before. She wasn't a simpering moron like a lot of the women he'd met. She was knowledgeable and obviously brave. She wasn't only interested in finding a husband. There was a long list of reasons why he was interested in Rebecca, but the fact that she was different was one of the main ones.


	6. Chapter Five Companion Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically this is just what's going on in Mystic Falls in 2009 while Rebecca is back in time.

Mystic Falls, 2009

Uh-oh.

Damon shot up out of bed. Something was wrong.

Maybe it had been a dream but it had been so . . . real. And he hadn't had dreams in a long time, not ones like this, not ones that didn't involve Katherine Pierce. And Rebecca Stone definitely hadn't had the starring role.

But he'd been human and he'd been attracted to her the minute he'd seen her. Her eyes, her smile - he'd fallen in love with her smile.

He'd been introduced to her the day he'd come back while he was on leave from the war. He'd been arguing with Father - of course - when Stefan had brought her in, probably as a way to relieve the tension. Damon knew Stefan hadn't liked it when he and their father used to fight. Damon had felt bad about causing his brother stress back then, he didn't care now.

But that had been the first time he'd seen Rebecca. She'd curtsied like a good little lady but it had been in a teasing way and it had amused him.

She had arrived at the most inopportune moment. People were just starting to complain about animal attacks, when really it was vampires. Of course, Damon hadn't known it right then, so he'd thought the town's people were just superstitious fools.

Rebecca hadn't seemed bothered by it, so maybe she hadn't known it was vampires. She'd seemed content just to spend time with him and Stefan. Maybe she didn't want to know it was vampires. Maybe she was ignoring the problem.

Ugh, I need a drink, he thought. I'm gonna get a drink.

He got out of bed, got dressed, went downstairs, grabbed a bottle of his best bourbon and started chugging. This Rebecca chick was going to mess everything up. Because, despite what he'd told himself when he'd woken up, it wasn't a dream. It was real; somehow Rebecca had gone back to 1864 and his human self liked her.

His human self had liked how she'd carried herself, how she'd been nice to the people she didn't have to be nice to. The servants had loved her, probably would've died for her had they been given the chance.

He remembered how his body had stirred the first time he'd had her in his arms when he'd helped her off his horse. He'd been totally attracted to her by that time. But that was all it had been just then: Attraction. She'd had too many secrets for him to let himself feel much more than that.

"Damon!" It was Stefan, and he sounded disturbed. "When are we gonna talk about it?"

"About what?"

"You know what. Rebecca. She's not here . . ." Stefan said. "I have different memories, so I know you do too."

"What do you mean?"

Stefan scoffed. "Drop the act. We both spent time with her. You were there too. In fact, you forgot I was there, remember. Your words."

Damon didn't answer because, well, Stefan was telling the truth.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Stefan asked. "She doesn't belong there. She could die."

"Everybody dies," Damon said coldly. "Besides, what are we supposed to do? I hardly think Bonnie Bennett could bring her back and if Sheila could've done it, she would've already."

"What am I supposed to tell Elena? She's freaking out and I can't even tell her that Rebecca's okay."

"Your problem, not mine. You're the one who keeps lying to her and yourself about what you are, Mr. I-Like-Torturing-Furry-Animals-So-I-Don't-Hurt-People."

Stefan glared and Damon smirked. "Why am I surprised by how helpful you're not?"

"Because you never learn."

Damon walked away and out of the house. He was regretful that he couldn't bring his alcohol with him.  
\-----  
Jeeze, he'd taken her on a picnic and . . . hadn't even tried to seduce her. He'd respected her and treated her like a woman should be treated and all that other stuff he'd forgotten since he'd become a vampire. They had just talked and told each other about themselves.

She'd said she'd fallen asleep at a friend's house and seeing as to how she'd ended up back in time, he was going to assume that friend was a witch. Bonnie wasn't experienced enough, so that left Sheila.

Why he was at said witch's house was beyond him. Maybe he could chalk it up to curiosity. He wanted to know what spell had been cast and how long it would hold. Yeah, that was it.

He remembered how bad he'd felt when he'd made Rebecca cry - unwittingly, of course; when he'd been human he had never made a woman cry on purpose because, like most men, tears made him want to run the other way. But he hadn't been able to leave Rebecca alone because she was crying because she felt alone. He'd wanted to prove she wasn't.

When she'd kissed him it had shocked him. Women didn't just do things like that back then, not the respectable ones anyway. And Rebecca was respectable, and it had been a thank you for letting her cry and not saying anything about it. But she hadn't said no when he'd kissed her back.

Damon tried to forget how nice it had been. There was an innocence to Rebecca and even his human self had felt it. But they had fit together, his wildness with her purity. In that moment, Damon had felt like he'd found the place he'd belonged, and vampire Damon could remember it. He didn't want to remember it, but he did.

So yes, Rebecca was going to ruin everything. Damon had waited 145 to get Katherine back; he was not going to change his plans because of one human girl. She was an extraordinary human girl, but she was still just human. Well . . . Maybe slightly more than human since she was a Slayer, but . . . still. The point was still the same.

Rebecca was not Katherine.

Katherine or not, Damon had still liked how Rebecca had listened and not judged. But he had been human then; there was no way she wouldn't judge him now, not after everything he'd done all in the name of love. He'd shut his humanity out so he could survive and get to the point where he could bring Katherine back. He wouldn't have survived this long if he had felt as much as he had when he'd been human.  
\-----  
Finally, he knocked on Sheila Bennett's door. He did not expect to be invited in and that wasn't what he wanted anyway. He just wanted to know when the spell was going to be broken and how long Rebecca would be gone. He needed at least an estimate so he would know how much Rebecca could possibly mess up.

If Rebecca was still in the past when Katherine came into Damon's life . . . it was very possible Damon wouldn't notice Katherine at all. It was true Damon could go from one woman to the next, no problem, but if he was spoken for he wouldn't stray. He was very loyal. If Rebecca was there and made her feelings for him clear, which she had . . . Damon would not hurt her that way.

"Mr. Salvatore."

The woman who opened the door was thin in the extreme and . . . somehow knew who he was even though she'd never met him. Whatever, he had no time for that mystery. He had another one to deal with.

"You know why I'm here, I take it."

"Rebecca Stone?" she asked innocently, brown eyes twinkling.

"Yes," he seethed. "You bring her back now."

"I can't. I didn't cast the spell. She did, accidentally. The spell can't be broken until she gets what she wants."

"Well, what is it that she wants?"

"Since she didn't mean to cast the spell, she probably doesn't even know. She'll know when she finds it."

So it's not me? Damon thought moodily realizing it was completely irrational since he didn't want her anyway. But she was with Damon in that time period, so he thought he was justified in thinking that.

"Did you know where she would be sent when she cast the spell?"

"Nope, she could've ended up at Woodstock for all I knew."

"Hm." Damon chuckled. "Still probably would've met me."

"A less pleasant you," Sheila said, smirking. "You can leave now."

The witch slammed the door in his face.

"Well, that was rude," Damon muttered, but walked away nonetheless.  
\-----  
Damon was screwed. It had been a week since he'd started remembering things about the past-that-shouldn't-have-been, which meant it had been about two weeks since Rebecca had been gone. The sheriff had put up flyers around town because she was a missing person. Elena and Bonnie and even Caroline had helped. He knew Stefan had tried comforting Elena in the only way he knew how, by lying to her. Rebecca would be okay, maybe she'd come back and everything would be fine. Okay, so maybe that wasn't a complete lie, but it was omitting the truth, so it was technically still a lie.

Damon had taken to secretly going to Rebecca's house at night. He couldn't go in, but he wanted to make sure Chelsea was okay. It was stupid and he knew he shouldn't because the girl was not his responsibility, but the part of him that was remembering Rebecca in a way he shouldn't knew how much Rebecca loved her sister. If Rebecca wasn't here to take care of her . . . Well . . . Yeah.

As he'd thought, he was screwed. Robert was still not being a dad, but Chelsea did have Tina. But the baby was always crying. He'd heard she was teething, so that was probably why. Painful, painful, painful. They should give her something to chew on; it would make her feel better. Or didn't they have medicine to make her gums numb or something? He was sure he'd heard of that.

Or Chelsea might just be missing her sister/surrogate mother.

Damon wasn't the only one who needed her to come back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, as you can see, Damon's thoughts are skewed. He's not sure what to think of Rebecca going back in time, but he knows she's going to mess everything up because he's already doing OOC things. Or he thinks they're out of character. Anyway, I know this is short, but this was just an overview of what Damon's feeling - gasp - and thinking.
> 
> Let me know what you think? Really, I wasn't sure if this was how he'd react or not, but I was sure he wouldn't take it sitting down.


	7. Chapter Six

Mystic Falls, 1864

Damon Salvatore was . . . smitten with Rebecca Stone. Enamored, completely in love with Rebecca. Well, maybe not in love, but he was on his way. He never felt more himself than when she was with him. She didn't point out his faults - he knew he had some, but nobody was perfect - she just listened and accepted him as he was. She didn't want him to change or be better, though she made him want to be better for her.

When they were together it felt like nothing else mattered. Not his bigoted father, not his little brother, nothing. She made him feel cherished and secure; a feat no other person had been able to do. More than that, she took care of him without making him feel weak.

At the moment, they were out in the garden and he was attempting to teach her to dance. She was very graceful for someone who claimed not to know how to dance. She was also a quick learner.

He liked the feel of her in his arms; it left him feeling light and warm and peaceful. He twirled her around and she giggled in delight as he brought her back to catch her in his arms. Technically that wasn't part of the dance, but it was fun and it made her laugh. His breath caught as she bit her lip and looked up at him with adoration. No one had looked at him with that expression before.

She was undeniably beautiful in a natural goddess way. Though, technically, if she were a goddess then she wasn't natural at all. The point was since he'd met her, he couldn't think of anyone else. Rebecca filled up his head space.

Sometimes they took strolls by the pond or through the gardens or through the maze on the grounds.

He bent to kiss her on the cheek chastely - he usually wasn't one to go for the innocent type because he wasn't used to taking things slow, but there was just something about her that drew him in - but she tilted her head just-so so their lips brushed. Then she pulled away, teasing him and blushing at the same time.

"I don't think that was part of the lesson," she said shyly. A small smile was playing across her lips.

"I believe it was, Miss Rebecca," he replied, grinning. "Shall we continue?"

Her hair began falling into her face, which just wasn't acceptable, so he pushed her hair back revealing her angel face and he kissed her again; this time she didn't pull away.

"You are quite the woman, aren't you?" he said. More like breathed against her lips and felt as she smiled. "All the girls will be jealous of you at the dinner, and the men will absolutely loathe me for having you all to myself."

Damon thought that arrangement was quite alright. Neither of them cared what the townspeople thought. But mostly he'd just said what he'd said so the flush wouldn't leave her cheeks. Rebecca's cheeks were almost perpetually rosy; it just made her lovelier.  
\-----  
As Rebecca and Damon walked back to the house, hand in hand, Rebecca felt quite good about herself. Damon saw her as a woman, though until she'd met him she'd never considered herself as such. Until he'd made her feel like a woman she'd still thought of herself as a young girl.

As they stepped inside, they heard Stefan and Giuseppe talking about someone named Katherine Pierce. Apparently she'd recently lost her parents and was coming to live there at Veritas. Rebecca knew it was more because Giuseppe wanted to make a good impression on the townspeople rather than because he was generous at all. He'd only taken Rebecca in because she'd saved his life and could probably be useful.

The girl, Katherine, would be arriving any day now. They would have a new house guest. She knew from what Giuseppe said that this Katherine's parents had died in a fire in Atlanta. Rebecca was assuming that the Salvatore's knew her family; why else would Giuseppe agree to have a girl from Atlanta come all the way to Virginia.

"Ah, you two are back," Giuseppe said, sounding almost delighted by their arrival.

Rebecca should've known something was up then, because Giuseppe was never delighted to see Damon.

"I see you two have been spending much time together. Perhaps you can tame my wild son, yes?"

Rebecca blushed but spoke anyway. "I would never claim to be able to do that nor would I ever wish to."

Wow. If she wasn't careful, she'd start talking like the people from this time period.

She didn't even blink when Giuseppe didn't seem to appreciate the honesty of her answer. She didn't care. She knew who she cared about and who she didn't. Giuseppe was too harsh on his sons for her to feel much for him. Any positive feelings she had for him stopped growing after gratitude for taking her in. She would've been lost in this world without him.

"Come, you two. Sit," he ordered.

It was only natural for Rebecca to want to rebel but she could tell by the gravity in his words that it was important, so she listened.

"There have been attacks in town. Animals with gashes in their necks. The work of demons."

"Stray dog, maybe," Damon suggested harshly. "Not demons."

"The attacks are getting closer to Veritas," Giuseppe went on as if Damon hadn't spoken. "If they get much closer, we'll have to fight back. Rebecca can teach us how. She's fought a demon herself."

Both Stefan and Damon turned sharply toward her and she suddenly found the table interesting. Inside she was fuming. How dare Giuseppe corner her like this? He was an awful, awful man.

"Rebecca?" Damon's sweet voice called out to her and she looked up. "What is he going on about?"

"Nothing. Leave it alone."

"It was not nothing," Giuseppe said, standing up. "Tell the truth!"

Rebecca stood up too. "You tell the truth, Mr. Salvatore. I don't like talking about such things."

It was true; she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't like that she'd killed someone, even if that someone had already been dead - or undead, whatever.

Giuseppe actually looked contrite at what she'd said. Suddenly he'd remembered she was a woman, maybe?

"Of course, Miss Stone. Shall we sit back down and speak rationally?"

"We shall." But she didn't want to. The only reason she didn't leave the room right that instant was because she didn't want him to say anything about her without her knowing about it. She needed to know how much damage control she'd have to do after he was done.

Giuseppe went on to explain how he'd found her and how she'd known exactly how to take care of the demon that had attacked them. All the while Damon and Stefan were quiet, taking everything in. She was terrified of what they would think of her now. A woman who knew how to fight, and the fact that she'd kept this from Damon. But really . . . What should she have said? Until now it seemed Damon hadn't given much thought to things that went bump in the night. He wouldn't have believed her, anyway; maybe he still wouldn't.

When Giuseppe was done Rebecca pretty much stomped from the room. She hadn't wanted Damon or Stefan to find out about her, not from Giuseppe.

Damon had followed her and was now grabbing her to turn her around. "Rebecca? You killed someone?"

She wouldn't look at him. Since the night she'd arrived in 1864 she'd tried to repress the fact that, yes, she had killed someone.

"He would've killed us, I didn't have a choice," she whispered.

"And you are convinced he was a demon?" She still wasn't looking at him so he made her look at him. Her face was now in his hands and she was looking directly into his earnest blue eyes. "Father has filled your head with children's stories."

"No, that night wasn't the first time I'd seen a vampire." She grabbed onto his arms and squeezed gently. "The demons Giuseppe was talking about are called vampires. Come with me, Damon, and I'll explain."

She was giving him a choice. He could back away from this craziness now - she was completely aware that that was what it sounded like - or he could give her a chance.

"I'll come with you," he decided.

She led him up to her bed chamber; he surprised her by stopping at the door.

"The servants will talk," he said softly, obviously worried about her reputation. "They may start to think poorly of you."

"Let them." She shrugged indifferently. This was more important than what people thought of her. "Tabitha will know better."

She and Tabitha had become sort of friends, though the colored woman was still shocked when she treated her like an equal.

Rebecca pulled him gently inside the room and she shut the door. They sat on her bed, a few inches apart and she wondered where she should start. Then it hit her.

"I'm not a killer, Damon," she blurted out. "I wouldn't have done anything to the vampire that attacked us if he hadn't attacked first."

She needed him to know that. She wasn't just a cold-blooded killer; she didn't think she had it in her. Yet.

"The man that attacked us, his eyes were red and he had very sharp fangs. He was drinking from your father's companion. He was killed right in front of me. That's why I killed the vampire."

She grabbed his hand and was grateful when he didn't flinch away.

"Until about a month ago, I didn't know vampires existed either. Then someone came to me and told me that I'm the one who can stop them. I'm a - the - vampire slayer. I didn't want it. I didn't ask for it. It just happened. Your father is planning on using me as a weapon, I'm pretty sure."

She then looked at him sharply. "Damon, you can't tell anyone about me, okay? Word cannot get around about me because if the wrong person hears it, I could be hunted down and killed."

"I won't tell," he said automatically and she knew he'd rather die than be the one to cause her harm. She couldn't tell, however, whether he was saying it to patronize her or because he actually believed her.

"Damon, I would've told you, I just didn't know how. Normal people don't want to hear about vampires. Not in a serious conversation anyway."

"The animal attacks?" he asked.

"Vampires have to feed, have to drink blood to survive. That much I know is true. But if they're not killing people then it's none of my business. I would never hurt an innocent person. Not all vampires are evil. They have a choice."

Granted, they didn't have a good choice, but they had a choice.

"Some . . . Some don't kill even when they feed from humans. I mean, they don't have to. That's another choice."

Damon closed his eyes and leaned back on the bed. He groaned a little. "I'm trying to follow along and I'm trying to believe you, Rebecca, but . . ."

"It's a lot to take in, I know. But you're not alone. And we never have to talk about this again if you don't want to. I just . . . You needed to know who I am and what I'm supposed to do."

When Damon didn't answer right away she became terrified. What was he thinking? Was he okay? Did he just need time or was his opinion of her forever altered?

"Damon? I'm still me. I'm still Rebecca, you just know more about me now." She touched his arm gently. "Are you wishing you didn't?"

His eyes snapped open and they flashed angrily. "It doesn't change how I feel. Nothing will change that. I just don't know how you expect me to respond."

"I don't care how you respond, just please don't shut me out. You are the closest friend I have here. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Damon seemed to take that at face value because she was naturally an honest person; this Damon was so very trusting. She laid there beside him for a few minutes, just long enough to feel him relax, long enough for her to reassure herself that he wasn't going anywhere. Then he kissed her goodnight on the cheek and left her bedroom to go to his own. Apparently he didn't want to risk her getting a bad reputation.  
\-----  
Katherine Pierce showed up two days later. Rebecca almost had a stroke because Katherine looked exactly like Elena or . . . Elena looked exactly like Katherine since Katherine was older. Same olive skin, same brown hair - though Katherine wore hers in ringlets and Elena usually had hers straight. Everything was the same except for the eyes. Both Elena and Katherine had chocolate brown eyes, but Elena's were soft and compassionate; Katherine's were cold and distant.

Rebecca remembered vampire Damon looking at Elena strangely the day she'd introduced them; she understood the look now.

Katherine had shown up in a carriage with her handmaid and a coachman. Katherine's dark curls reached halfway down her back. She wore one of those big frou-frou dresses that Rebecca hated wearing herself.

The first time Rebecca saw Katherine she couldn't get over the fact that she was meeting an Elena look-alike. She also knew that Katherine was a vampire. She got the same feeling around Katherine that she'd gotten around Stefan and Damon in her time period. She'd only recently made the connection.

Katherine was also wearing a familiar blue stone around her neck. Lapis Lazuli, Damon had called it. It protected him like it was protecting her. From the sun; she could walk around in the daylight without burning. It wasn't hard for Rebecca to come to that conclusion. Vampires couldn't walk around during the day and since Damon said the stone protected him . . . There was only one thing vampires needed to be protected from during the day; the sun.

She'd introduced herself willingly, Rebecca had. Katherine seemed amiable enough.

"I'm sorry about your family," Rebecca said sincerely.

Katherine's eyes grew dark and gloomy. "Thank you."

Elena had lost her parents too. Was she destined to relive Katherine's life? Or un-life, as it would be called. Was Elena destined to become a vampire? Was that why Stefan and Damon were in Mystic Falls?

Rebecca didn't have much time to speculate now; she couldn't do anything about Elena while she was here.

Katherine or no Katherine, Rebecca had been at Veritas for a month, which meant that she'd been away from home for a month. She missed her friends. She even missed Caroline's incessant blathering. But she was happy with Damon. When she was with him she forgot about all her problems. She'd gladly stay here if she could, just to be with him.

"I wasn't aware Mr. Salvatore had a daughter," Katherine said, breaking into her thoughts.

"Oh, no. He took me in as well. I don't have family here."

Giuseppe gave Katherine a room close to Rebecca's; Katherine's handmaid was put with the rest of the servants and again Rebecca was struck by the injustice of it all. All over skin color. The color of one's skin should have nothing to do with how one is treated.  
\-----  
The next day Rebecca was walking the path of Veritas with Stefan and Damon. She didn't ignore Stefan just because she was with - or sort of with - Damon. There was a nice breeze going even though it was still warm. She felt uneasy, which she wasn't used to when she was with Damon. She couldn't explain the negative feelings she was having now; it was just a . . . wrong feeling.

Katherine was in the garden, not too many feet away and she looked a little lonely. It didn't surprise Rebecca; the girl had lost her family - maybe not recently since she was a vampire - so it was to be expected.

Rebecca led the two brothers to where Katherine was sitting on a stone bench.

"Would you like to join us? We can give you a tour of the grounds."

"I would very much enjoy walking with you three for a bit," Katherine said.

Rebecca knew she didn't really know Katherine, but she had all this involuntary sympathy for her because she looked like Elena. During their walk Rebecca noticed that Katherine kept brushing her hand against Stefan's. Stefan's hand twitched every time and Katherine would smile playfully. She was teasing him.

A sudden thought struck Rebecca. Was Stefan getting close to Elena because he'd been close to Katherine? Was Stefan really on the rebound and liked Elena only because she looked like Katherine?

"Honoria Fell is coming tomorrow to discuss dresses with you and Katherine. Father wants to purchase you two something for the end of summer gala," Damon said. "She should be here at midday."

"What should I tell her? About the dress?"

"You'll be beautiful no matter what you wear," Damon said, grabbing her hand. "Let us give these two some privacy."

She squeezed his hand gently and smiled, forgetting the Stefan/Elena/Katherine problem for the moment.

"Are you sure you don't just want us to have privacy?" Rebecca teased.

Damon smiled softly and flushed. "That, too, Miss Rebecca."

"Come on," Rebecca said. She led him away from Stefan and Katherine. The two didn't seem to mind.

"I'm telling Father tomorrow that I'm not going back to the war. It's not my place."

"Oh. You'll do great. You just say exactly what you think and block out whatever he says. Ignore his negative opinion of you. It doesn't matter."

"Not needing encouragement right now. But thank you."

"Okay, um . . . But you're not staying just because of me, right? I mean, that's not what you're basing your decision on."

Damon sighed and stopped walking. "You are a big part of it, Rebecca. But no. And even if it was, it is my decision to make."

"Yes, it is." She stood on her tiptoes and caressed his lips with hers. She smiled. "Hey, do you know how to swim?"

His brows furrowed. "Yes . . ." he said hesitantly.

"Then follow me."

She led him to the pond on the grounds and when they reached it she began undoing the strings in the front of her dress. She had a dark colored slip under it so she wasn't worried.  
\-----  
Rebecca was pulling her dress off right in front of Damon. And he was frozen. He was half convinced he was dreaming. She was beautiful. The slip of her dress covered everything that needed to be covered, but it hugged her curves tightly. She looked amazing.

"Miss Rebecca . . . You are acting quite indecently."

He was teasing her to cover up the uncomfortableness he was suddenly feeling. He wasn't used to feeling uncomfortable around women, but Rebecca could make him feel . . . less confident. Actually, that wasn't quite correct. He was still confident, but he worried more about what she thought than he cared to admit. He was always worried that he was going to say or do something wrong and she'd leave. Even though she'd proven more than once that she liked him as he was. He didn't need to change for her.

Rebecca waded into the water and looked at him. "Aren't you coming in?" She bit her lip and smiled shyly. "I can turn around if you want me to while you undress."

He began taking his shoes off and then his shirt. She didn't have to turn around. He watched her face for any sign of hesitation, but there wasn't any. He left his trousers on. Then he took an embarrassingly shaky breath and stepped into the water.

Rebecca was already waist deep and when he reached her, they went in deeper. Then she splashed him, relieving some of the tension he'd been feeling.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you," he teased, retaliating.

They spent at least half-an-hour just having a water fight. He went easy on her at first until he realized that being a Slayer - if that was actually what she was - meant she was stronger and faster than other women he'd met. He could be a little wilder with her without worrying about hurting her. She wasn't a delicate little flower even if he did sometimes treat her like one.  
\-----  
The next day Giuseppe had invited Honoria Fell - relation to Logan Fell, local newscaster in Rebecca's time - over to Veritas, like Damon had warned her he had. Giuseppe wanted others to see how well his two lady guests were being taken care of.

"No son of mine will ever disobey me! You need to go back and take your place in the world."

"My place is here."

Giuseppe and Damon were arguing again; Damon was telling his father he wasn't going to fight in a war he didn't believe in. Needless to say, Giuseppe hadn't taken too kindly to that.

"You're thinking with your heart and not your head. You are becoming too attached to Miss Stone."

"Miss Stone is right here, Mr. Salvatore," she said, irritated by the fact that Giuseppe apparently thought that she was deaf because she was female. "And her hearing is as good as ever, just so you know."

Rebecca glanced at Damon and saw that some of the fire from his argument with his father had left his eyes and he smiled at her. She smiled back and then noticed that Katherine and Stefan, who were in the room with them, seemed curious about the exchange.

Rebecca blushed even though there really wasn't anything to it. She and Damon were fond of each other, that was all.  
\-----  
Later that same day Rebecca was out on the porch of the huge white Colonial house just sitting, enjoying the quiet, when suddenly it wasn't quiet anymore. Damon and Stefan came running out the door like little children. Damon had a leather ball in his hand, a football.

"Wait, where did you learn this game?" Stefan asked.

"Camp outside Atlanta. One of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch."

Stefan did as Damon had asked and then Damon charged at him.

"Wait, wait, what're the rules?"

Rebecca then felt Katherine's presence before Katherine spoke.

"Who needs rules?"

That was the first time Katherine's voice had gotten on Rebecca's nerves. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked the two brothers.

"Well, you could get hurt," Stefan said. "My brother likes to play rough."

"Somehow I think that you play rougher," Katherine teased. Then she stole the ball and took off running. Stefan just looked after her and Rebecca rolled her eyes.

Damon watched and then looked at Stefan, blue eyes full of amusement.

"Why're you just standing there? That is clearly a girl who wants to be chased. If you don't do it, I will."

Then both Salvatore brothers took off running, leaving Rebecca on the porch, grinning at their playful antics. She'd expected it from Damon; Stefan, not so much.  
\-----  
Mystic Falls was crawling with vampires, two of which were Pearl and Annabelle, the first of which owned the apothecary. Rebecca met them one day when Damon had escorted her into town. They'd both known Katherine in Atlanta - Pearl was one of Katherine's friends.

There was a young black man named Harper who was a vampire; a young white man named Henry. Both Henry and Harper had come with Pearl and Annabelle. Then there was Fredrick and Bethanne. Rebecca wasn't sure where they'd come from, but they were vampires nonetheless.

Rebecca had yet to hear of any humans being attacked, so she kept her nose out of it.

Pearl and Annabelle were both able to walk around in the sun so they had to have a stone somewhere on them; Rebecca just couldn't see it.

On the day of the dinner/dance thing Rebecca woke up feeling odd. There wasn't anything in particular; she just had a weird feeling. It made her anxious. She'd felt that way since Katherine's arrival.

Tabitha was in her room like she was every morning, only this time she'd prepared a nice bath for Rebecca.

"Thank you, Tabitha," Rebecca said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Mizz Becca." Tabitha gave her a slight smile. "Mr. Damon wishes to see you when you're ready."

"Tell him I'll be there shortly. Thank you."

When she was clean and fresh - she still wasn't used to using baking soda on her teeth - she slipped on a lilac colored dress. No corset - she was still against the use of them unless completely necessary; they were medieval torture devices as far as she was concerned.

Once downstairs she went in search of Damon and found Stefan instead. He had a Shakespeare book in his lap. Hamlet.

"Hello, Stefan," she said, announcing her presence. "Hamlet, huh? Incest and murder and vengeance, oh my!"

Stefan smiled softly and shut the book, marking his place with his finger. "Why does it not surprise me that you know Shakespeare?"

"Because hopefully you've learned by now that I know a lot of things. Where's Damon? Tabitha said he was asking for me."

"He's right out on the porch."

"Thank you, Stefan."

Sure enough, Damon was there. Rebecca slipped her arms around him even though public displays of affection were frowned upon in this time period. Damon was shaking his head at his father, who was about twenty yards away ordering a few servants to put some lanterns in the ground on either side of the pathway that led to the house.

Damon made some comment about Giuseppe being ostentatious and then grabbed her hand and led her off the porch. Their favorite spot was by the pond, so she was sure that was where they were headed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, squeezing his hand. "Did you change your mind about the war? Are you leaving?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to see you." He looked into her eyes so she could tell he was being honest. "That color looks lovely on you."

"Thank you." She smiled. "So, tonight . . . I'm not going to have to wear a frou-frou dress, am I?"

Damon's brows furrowed in confusion. "What's a frou-frou dress?"

She'd known he was going to say that.

"You know those big poofy ones. I don't like them. The dress I had made . . . I don't have to where a hoop under it, do I?"

"You and your words," he said, laughing. "Wear what you want."

"Okay." Layers would do, she guessed; it was better than the hoop thing. "Damon? I'm nervous."

"You . . . Nervous? Never."

She smiled softly. "I don't know these people and they don't know me."

"Well, there are the Forbes'; Mr. Forbes is the Sheriff. The Lockwood's; Mr. Lockwood is the mayor. Jonathon Gilbert; he's an inventor. Father thinks he's crazy, but he's easy to get along with. Just agree with whatever he says and he'll stop talking faster."

Gilbert, Forbes, Lockwood. It struck her dumb for a minute because she knew these people's descendants. Elena and Jeremy Gilbert; Caroline Forbes; Tyler Lockwood. Caroline's mom was the Sheriff in her time period; Tyler's dad was the mayor. Things were set up that way, maybe.

Damon slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He'd obviously sensed her sudden mood change, because his hold was comforting. They sat on a white coated bench and she leaned against him. She still had that anxious feeling down in her stomach and it was starting to throw her. Maybe the day had come and she'd have to leave. She hoped that wasn't the case, for Damon's sake and her own.

She wanted to tell him, warn him in some way, but she didn't know how. It wasn't fair, what she was doing. She knew that one day she wouldn't be there and she continued to let Damon get closer to her.

She was being selfish, but she didn't want to let him go.  
\-----  
At the dinner servants brought out pheasant with cornbread as the main course. Dinner conversation was about the animal attacks. Some of the people were angry; others were just scared and worried. Most of the women had almost been too scared to come to the dinner.

Rebecca wanted to say 'notice you're still alive' but she held her tongue.

After dinner the guests were served wine and it was sweet; Rebecca had to remind herself not to drink too much. She did not want to get tipsy here. Though she appreciated the wine when she had to dance. It gave her a little courage. For the first couple of steps she looked at their feet, making sure she matched his moves. Then he tilted her chin up so she'd look at his face instead. She smiled shyly, but felt better when she saw the total adoration in his eyes.

After that the dance seemed easy.

Stefan danced with her a few times after getting Damon's permission and Rebecca found the younger Salvatore was not very graceful, but she had fun teasing him fondly.

Then a drunken louse named George Lockwood had wanted a dance - she guessed being an ass was inherited. She'd almost had no choice because she'd been left alone for a second and he didn't seem the type to take no for an answer. She'd even reached out a hand, slowly and hesitantly; her hand had almost been in his and then Damon was there.

He was glaring at the other man - uh-oh, Alpha Male showdown - and she was grabbing Damon's hand instead. Thank God.

Damon led her away from the Lockwood boy and she danced with him again.

"Ugh, I thought I was gonna have to dance with that creep!"

"I shouldn't have left you alone. My mistake."

"Well, you're here now." She smiled. "Don't go anywhere."

Damon didn't leave her side again that night.


	8. Chapter Six Companion Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's another small glimpse into Damon's thoughts in 2009 as he's remembering all this new stuff with Rebecca in it. He's still a little conflicted I think. LOL. But he wouldn't be Damon if he wasn't.

Mystic Falls, 2009

Damon and Rebecca were dancing in the gardens of Veritas. Damon had learned to dance a long time ago; it was part of his upbringing. They were just having fun, twirling and touching chastely.

Rebecca made him feel alive with just a touch of her hand, with just a smile at something he'd done or said. He could make her happy and she could make him feel like nobody else could.

He could see himself being with her for the rest of his life. They could go wherever she wanted; if she wanted something he'd see she got it. If things kept going the way they were maybe he would ask her to marry him in the future. Not in the near future, of course, but sometime . . .

Damon was in bed again and had been dreaming again. That was mostly how the memories came to him, in his sleep. Well, he was still a vampire so Rebecca obviously hadn't changed that. Yet.

His human self had been completely happy having Rebecca there with him, but vampire Damon knew it was doomed to fail. She couldn't stay there. She had to come back some time and then . . . His human self would be devastated. Rebecca was playing with him with her shy smiles and small kisses and it wasn't fair and he couldn't do anything about it but wait for the hurt to come. Because he would no doubt feel it, or remember feeling it.

It. Wasn't. Fair.

He knew Rebecca couldn't tell his human self the truth, and it was probably smart for her not to have, but still . . . Rebecca had to know they couldn't work. That she couldn't stay with him. So why was she getting closer to him when she knew . . . When she knew she'd have to leave sometime?

But she really was blossoming into a beautiful woman while with him - or human him. And was helping human him learn to really care - unselfishly - and vampire Damon didn't like it. Because he could remember how it felt to be genuinely cared for by a woman and it upset him that it wasn't Katherine doing it. Though Katherine was still there in his thoughts so obviously having a vampire slayer around hadn't kept Katherine from coming to Veritas too.

Damon felt odd every time he gained a new memory. He wondered if that was what making someone remember something with compulsion felt like. He wondered if when he compelled someone to forget him biting them felt as odd as that. Did they sense that that memory shouldn't be there, or that they had forgotten something important?

Ugh, who cares?

Damon remembered the night he'd found out Rebecca was a Slayer. His ass of a father had used it to corner her into helping even though he could tell she had wanted nothing to do with it at all. He knew now that Rebecca had killed at least one vampire but she'd taken no joy in it.

It had been self defense if her story was anything to go by.

She'd given him a choice; he could've walked away and she would've understood. But he hadn't. He'd gone with her to her bedroom and listened to her explanation. He had tried to believe her, but he had kind of thought she was a little crazy. She'd been honest, though, and she'd had to know his vampire self would remember, which meant she hadn't minded him knowing. She might have even wanted him to know just in case she did get to come back. She'd told him she wouldn't know what do without him.

But that had been then.  
\----------  
It had been a month since Rebecca had been . . . missing. Everyone was still worried but they had stopped looking. People probably thought she was dead, what with the animal attacks and all.

Damon's memories included Katherine now, but as he'd thought . . . his human self didn't even really notice Katherine Pierce. Yes, he was civil and he noticed her beauty, but he wasn't interested.

His human self had noticed that Rebecca seemed a bit off since Katherine had arrived and he didn't understand it. Vampire Damon did. Rebecca could feel that Katherine was a vampire - she'd been able to sense him too when he'd met her, but she hadn't known what it had been. It had been new to her. But other than that, there was Elena, who was Katherine's doppelganger.

Rebecca was still nice to Katherine whether she knew the girl was a vampire or not. But Damon guessed that was just Rebecca. Katherine seemed to get along with Rebecca okay, but that could've been an act. Katherine had been good at manipulating people to get what she wanted.

With his human self absorbed in Rebecca, it had left Katherine to give all her attention to Stefan. And he didn't like it, Damon didn't. Not the one from the present, anyway. It was supposed to be him and her, not Stefan and her.

He remembered the time he and Rebecca had gone swimming and he had been shocked, his human self had. Again, women didn't just undress in front of people back then. That was when Damon figured out Rebecca Stone was a tease. She gave all these shy smiles and innocent looks; well, she may have been innocent but she definitely wasn't naïve. She knew what she was doing when she'd looked back at him to see if he was going to follow.

He'd followed, of course. And had gotten splashed for his efforts. Rebecca had obviously seen he was nervous - how embarrassing - and had done it to make him feel better.  
\----------  
One thing that had changed because of Rebecca was that Damon had actually told his father that he wasn't going back to fight in the war. Originally Damon just hadn't gone back, he hadn't told anybody anything. He'd actually lied and told everybody he'd still been on leave.

One thing that hadn't changed was he and Stefan playing football, sort of, with Katherine. Damon had chased her for fun and Stefan had joined in. Rebecca had allowed it without complaint. Most girls were more possessive and jealous.

Like Caroline Forbes, Damon's flavor of the week. She was a total ditz, but she was also food. She talked too much for his liking and sometimes he actually compelled her to stay quiet; he was surprised it didn't kill her to not speak. Damon understood about having to tolerate her now.

So far he'd only fed from her twice and the morning after would've been amusing if it hadn't been annoying. The plan had been to feed and make her forget, but she'd attacked him, so . . .

He had chosen her because she was desperate for attention and he was hungry; also he had no worries about forming attachments with this one. He'd kill her if he had to put up with her for more than an hour or two.

Damon remembered the dance he'd escorted Rebecca to. He'd danced with her most of the night except for the few times he'd switched with Stefan. Stefan had asked permission and Damon hadn't minded as long as he had been able to dance with Katherine. Turnabout was fair play.

He, however, hadn't been okay with that Lockwood guy dancing with her; he hadn't allowed that. George Lockwood had been gross and obscene in the best of times and he'd been drinking that night. There was no way he'd been about to leave Rebecca with him. Not to mention all the Lockwood's had been notorious for their tempers.

Rebecca had shined that night and she hadn't even noticed. She'd been more worried about noticing him. Except for the few dances she'd shared with Stefan - and most of that had been spent teasing him about his two left feet - she'd been entirely focused on him. And he'd liked it.

He still sort of liked it or the memory of it anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, Damon is conflicted. He doesn't know whether these new memories are a good thing are not because he's not sure what's gonna happen. I know this was short, but that's because I didn't need to cover EVERYTHING that had happened in the last chapter, just the key points.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter Seven

Rebecca was miserable. Ever since the day of the dance Damon had changed. He'd become less attentive to her; he started spending more and more time with Katherine. She wondered if he'd spent time with her the first time around. Either way, something was wrong. Damon was unflinchingly loyal and he wouldn't just wake up one morning and stop caring about her. Damon was still nice to her, but they weren't intimate.

She didn't mean physically - they hadn't gone that far yet and if he was losing interest, she was glad they hadn't. She laughed and smiled and pretended everything was fine when she saw Damon and Katherine together. She pretended it didn't hurt to see him acting like a love sick idiot over another girl.

Rebecca was sitting on the porch, reading a book, when someone sat beside her. Katherine's handmaid.

"Miss, may I please have a moment of your time?"

"Certainly. Please, call me Rebecca. What's your name?"

"Emily Bennett, Miss."

Bennett? As in Bonnie and Sheila Bennett?

Emily then made the most unusual request. "May I touch your hand?"

"Um . . . Okay." Rebecca grinned. "You a fortune teller or something?"

"Or something."

Rebecca handed Emily her hand and Emily embraced it in both hands. Emily didn't space out like Bonnie did but Rebecca could tell Emily was trying to see something.

"You're a witch," Rebecca said, not yanking her hand back.

"And you are a vampire slayer. Not from this time period."

Rebecca felt a surge of hope. "Can you send me back?" If she couldn't be with Damon then she had no reason to stay here.

"No. You know that. The spell has to do whatever it is your witch cast it for."

My witch, Rebecca thought. It wasn't like she owned Sheila. Besides, Sheila hadn't done the spell, she had. Unwittingly, of course.

"You know what Katherine is yet she's still walking around," Emily said.

"I haven't heard of anybody dying."

"Katherine knows how to blend in and be safe."

After that last statement Emily strolled off the porch and away from Rebecca.  
\----------  
Rebecca had taken to patrolling the area around Veritas. It wasn't so much that she didn't trust the vampires here, it was just that there we so many of them and she wanted to know what they were up to. It was nighttime now and she had snuck out of the house quite easily. Along with strength she'd also seemed to pick up the gift of stealth; she was quiet as a mouse.

Once in town - she knew she probably shouldn't have strayed that far - she tried to keep herself focused but there were people everywhere. Didn't people go to sleep early here? Or weren't they supposed to? People back in the day were supposed to be early-to-bed-early-to-rise type people. It would've been easier for her if that were true.

She ran into Pearl, Annabelle, and Harper, the last of which seemed strangely attached to Pearl. She exchanged pleasantries and went on her way. Then she came across Damon, who was coming out of a tavern; he wasn't drunk or anything so that was a plus. She wished she could tell him that the woman he'd been hanging around lately was a vampire, but he'd probably laugh in her face.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, seemingly surprised to see her.

"Walking?" Innocent enough, right?

"Peculiar time for a walk."

Rebecca shrugged. "I guess. I have nothing else to do. My closest friend abandoned me." She glared at him pointedly.

Damon looked as if she had struck him. "I didn't. That's not what I'm doing."

"That's what it feels like. I mean, one minute you say that nothing will change the way you feel about me, and the next you're gallivanting around with Katherine. Like you're flaunting the fact that you're done with me."

"I . . ." His brow furrowed. "It's hard to explain, but I can't help it. I feel like I have to."

"What? You can't help it? You have to. What does that mean?"

Was he just making excuses?

"I don't know. Just that when I'm around her I have to do the things I do."

And just like that, it clicked. Katherine was compelling Damon for some reason. Boredom, maybe? But whatever it was, Katherine was making Damon infatuated with the wrong girl. Rebecca felt stupid for not thinking of compulsion before.

She was going to have to do something, something that would hopefully be non-violent. Maybe she could tell Katherine how important Damon was to her and that would be that. She'd have to do it soon because she hated not being able to spend time with Damon; he was the only reason she hadn't gone completely insane.

"Come along, Miss Rebecca. Let's get you home."

Home? Yes. Home was with him, wherever that was.  
\----------  
Back at Veritas Damon walked Rebecca back to her room and she appreciated it, but she waited until he was completely out of sight and then she went to the room next to hers; Katherine's room. She knocked first because she could ask nicely; she could be civil about this. At first.

Katherine opened the door and just like every other time Rebecca had seen her she had to stop and stare for a moment. She looked just like Elena.

"Yes?" Katherine asked.

"I want to talk to you."

"It's late," Katherine said.

"I'm aware. Let me in," Rebecca demanded. "Or I could tell everyone you're a you-know-what and they can deal with you. I'm sure Mr. Salvatore would be delighted to know his oldest son is spending time with you."

Katherine allowed Rebecca in. Rebecca felt a little bit smug knowing she had the upper hand at the moment.

"You know what I am," Katherine deduced.

Rebecca was surprised that Emily hadn't told Katherine about her. Or that Damon hadn't.

"I do. I also know how to kill you." Rebecca was surprised that she'd said that; she wasn't usually so confrontational. "Leave Damon alone."

"I'm not hurting him," Katherine said, her lips curling upward. "He's quite happy. And satisfied."

Oh, God, Damon had slept with her. Or Katherine was insinuating that they had been together in that way.

"Maybe. But you are taking away his freedom of choice and that's wrong. Find somebody else to play with."

Rebecca walked out of the room with the feeling that she'd made things a lot worse. What if she'd unwittingly endangered Damon's life? Katherine could easily hurt him or worse just to prove a point. That Rebecca did not have the upper hand.  
\----------  
The next morning Rebecca found herself knocking on Giuseppe's study door.

"Yes?"

She assumed that meant she could enter so she stepped inside. Giuseppe was sitting behind his desk writing in a leather bound book. A journal, maybe?

"Mr. Salvatore, I'd like to speak with you. Here. Privately."

"Certainly. Have a seat."

"I'd rather stand, thank you." She started pacing the length of the room. "I know a lot about vampires. I don't want to have anything to do with killing them, but I can tell you what to do, their weaknesses."

"Any of your input would be very welcome, Miss Stone."

"Okay. First and foremost, vampires need blood to survive, but I think the vampires in this town are feeding on animal blood, or at the very least . . . They're not killing when they feed. It's blood, if they don't drink, they'll starve. I can't fault them for wanting to survive."

"That's quite a soft way of thinking," Giuseppe insulted.

"If you don't like it, I can leave. Let you figure all this out on your own," she shot back.

Giuseppe looked like he wanted to tell her off for speaking to him that way, but he didn't.

"Proceed," was all he said.

"Vampires have a way of controlling you. It's called compulsion. They get into your mind, make you do what they want. But you can stop it with an herb called vervain. I don't know how or why, but if it's in you or on you a vampire can't control you. You can drink it or wear it."

She grabbed at the cross at her neck; she hadn't taken it off since Sheila had given it to her.

"My necklace has liquid vervain in it, so I can't be compelled."

Onto the next topic . . .

"Vampires look human. Only when they feed do they show who they really are - or if they lose control, but that's a different story altogether. They don't have to kill when they feed, but some choose to. Others feed and then erase the memory of the victim having been attacked. I've seen it happen. It doesn't make it right, but the victim is left alive and relatively okay. Weak the next day, but alive."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly; she was about to lie a little - or omit a truth really.

"Vampires are nocturnal by nature."

The only reason Rebecca said that was because she didn't want to say anything that would endanger Stefan and Damon from the future, and telling about the Lapis Lazuli stone being able to protect them would definitely endanger them. She was assuming, of course, that she hadn't already messed up their futures.

"When a vampire walks in the sunlight, they will burn. Fire, beheading, stake to the heart. They will die and stay dead. It will get the job done. Oh, and vervain can make vampires weak if it gets in their system. I suggest you start ingesting it. In case you're attacked. You need to find a way to obtain some."

"The servants already grow it, for the fragrance."

"Well, good. Start using it. The vampires may be closer than you think."  
\----------  
Rebecca's little talk with Katherine hadn't made things better at all. Now instead of Damon just spending time with Katherine, he was claiming he loved her. Apparently, Giuseppe hadn't gotten the vervain yet or if he had, Damon hadn't been dosed with it yet.

So Rebecca was pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't help Damon by killing Katherine because if Rebecca killed Katherine while Damon was under the impression that he loved her, he would hate Rebecca forever. Katherine had made Damon forget his love for Rebecca and had made him loyal to her. And the thing was that Rebecca couldn't do anything about it, not without hurting Damon and she didn't want to do that.

Of course, Katherine knew that and she was using it against her. It seemed she held all the cards right now.

Elena and Katherine may have looked alike, but Katherine was the complete opposite of Elena. Elena cared about others; Katherine was all about number one, which to her was herself. Katherine was an evil-monster-of-death. That was Rebecca's name for Katherine now.

Katherine had begun playing with both brothers - she was even feeding from Stefan; Rebecca hadn't seen any bite marks, but she knew the signs. Stefan had become pale and weak - he seemed exhausted all the time.

Worse than that, though, was she'd found out that while she'd been 'minding her own business' Katherine and maybe some of the other vampires had been turning the citizens of the surrounding towns. People hadn't been going missing, really, because they were still there. They weren't alive anymore, they were undead.

"Miss Stone?"

Giuseppe knocked on her door and cracked it open enough for him to speak to her.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore?"

"Get dressed. I'm heading to a meeting and you're coming with me. Since you've told me all you know the town's people have formed a council. The Lockwood's, the Forbes', the Gilbert's, my family, the Fells'."

"Then shouldn't Stefan and Damon be going?"

"Stefan isn't looking well, and my other good-for-nothing -"

"Don't talk about him like that," Rebecca cut him off. "Just because he doesn't follow you blindly doesn't make him a bad person. Or a bad son."

Giuseppe stepped inside the room. "He's insolent and -"

"He does what he wants and you can't stand it. You're overbearing and you treat him harshly -"

Giuseppe then swung his fist at her - reflex reaction probably - and she was too shocked to respond quickly enough to stop him.

"I've had about enough of your back talking!"

"Father?"

Damon had entered the room just as Rebecca's head snapped to the side from the force of Giuseppe's strike. Damon looked indignant and concerned.

"What kind of man are you that strikes a lady? She's a guest in our house and you treat her like this?"

Giuseppe didn't even acknowledge Damon's presence. He only turned to Rebecca and said, "I'll be waiting downstairs."

"Hold your breath until I get there," Rebecca seethed.

As Giuseppe left Damon came further into the room and stopped in front of her. He tilted her chin up to examine the damage; Rebecca knew her bottom lip had been spilt, she'd felt the sting as it had happened.

Damon wiped the blood away with his thumb and she could tell by the tenderness he was showing her that, even though Katherine was controlling him, he could still feel some of what he had before. Katherine could compel him to think he didn't love her anymore, but she couldn't compel his heart to believe the same. It felt so good knowing that that her heart almost burst with joy.

"Are you alright?" he asked, leading her to the bed and making her sit. "I didn't mean to intrude, but I heard voices and I heard what you said. You . . . defended me and I saw what Father did."

"I'm fine."

Damon walked over to her wash basin - it always had fresh water in it, thanks to Tabitha - and wet a cloth, which he then placed on her lip. The water was cold enough to keep her lip from swelling.

"He shouldn't have laid a hand on you."

"No, he shouldn't have," Rebecca agreed.

"Why didn't you stop him? You could have."

She smiled softly and shrugged. "I was surprised. I didn't expect him to do that."

She noticed Damon was doing that thing where he examined her expressions.

"What?"

"I don't know why, but I had this urgent need to . . . comfort you," Damon sort of blurted out.

Her smile grew wider even though it sort of hurt to smile. "Maybe you're fond of me." Then more seriously, she added, "And I defended you because it's true. That's how I feel. You being with Katherine doesn't change that. As long as I'm here, I'll be here for you."

"Thank you," he almost whispered, a small but sincere smile gracing his lips. She obviously still got to him.

Rebecca reached up to touch his cheek briefly and then sighed knowing she was probably getting ready to say the wrong thing.

"Look, this isn't going to make any sense to you right now, but . . . I know you still feel something for me or you wouldn't be here. Don't you . . . remember anything about us? We were better together than you and Katherine. You deserve better than her. Please . . ."

As Damon sat there on the bed with her, listening to her talk about him, he couldn't help but wonder what she was talking about. He knew they had a history, but that was done, wasn't it? Katherine had taken her place - very easily if Damon was being honest with himself; too easily. Damon could see he had hurt Rebecca and he hadn't meant to. He had a feeling by doing that he had hurt himself too, or had deprived himself of something good.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Katherine," she said softly, sadly. "But so has Stefan. You realize she's playing with you both?"

"She is . . . undecided about what she wants," Damon defended, much like he would have defended Rebecca not too long ago.

"Hm."

Damon bit his lip, feeling quite undecided himself at the moment. "I owe you an apology. When you told me about who you are I couldn't believe you."

"And now?" she asked, breath catching in her throat.

"Now, given who I have been spending time with . . . I see you were right."

"You mean you know about Katherine? She told you?"

"Yes. She also told me that you know. How did you find out?"

"Her necklace." Rebecca sounded hesitant; that was the first time she'd ever hesitated to tell him anything. Damon didn't like it. He liked when he was able to talk to her about anything, when she could talk to him about anything.

"And I have a built-in detector; I can feel when vampires are around." She bit her lip. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you, right? So . . . As long as you love her I won't tell. I couldn't hurt you like that."

It may have been a weakness to think that way, but she couldn't help it. Her feelings were getting ready to make her offer something she really didn't want to offer.

"Your father and some of the other townspeople have gotten together. They have meetings that your father wants me to go to. I can . . . keep up with what they're doing, how far they're getting. I can warn you if they get close to the truth. If you want me to."

"Why would you do that?"

She grabbed his hand and he let her lace their fingers together. He seemed to be entranced even though she couldn't compel anyone. Then she admitted something to him that she hadn't before.

"Because I love you, Damon. No matter what Katherine makes you think, I love you."

She felt his hand jerk in hers, but he wasn't trying to get away. It was as if he'd been shocked that she'd said that.

His eyes were softening, almost like they used to do when he would look at her. It made her smile then she let his hand go.

"I need to go to that inane meeting. I'll talk to you in the morning?"

Damon nodded. "Thank you. I won't forget this."

"I know you won't," Rebecca said. "Which is why I don't mind doing this."

She then kissed him on the cheek but kept it friendly. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable.  
\----------  
Rebecca decided to play nice with Giuseppe, though if he ever hit her again she wouldn't just let him get away with it. He hadn't seen ornery from her yet. No matter what time period she was in, women didn't deserve to be hit by men.

Giuseppe and Rebecca got in a carriage that had been set up by a stable boy. They didn't talk at all, which she was completely content with. She wasn't very fond of Giuseppe; she wondered if he ever hit Damon.

The first time he spoke, he said, "Here we are."

Here was an old mansion on the other side of town. The mansion was falling apart; she hoped it didn't collapse while she was inside.

"This is the Gilbert mansion," Giuseppe explained. "He inherited it from his father."

Rebecca didn't really care, but she didn't want to get into it with him again. She followed him obediently - since that was his favorite word - up the steps.

A man, small in stature, opened the door. He had a head and face full of dark hair.

"Ah, you must be Miss Stone," the man said, offering her his hand. "Jonathan Gilbert. Please come in."

Rebecca went in, wondering what exactly Giuseppe had been telling the council.

"You shouldn't invite just anyone into your house, Mr. Gilbert. Vampires can't get in without an invitation. If either Mr. Salvatore or myself had been turned you would probably be dead now."

Jonathan's face went pale and she shook her head, almost amused.

"I'm not a vampire, promise. You are completely safe."

Jonathan then led her and Giuseppe to a study/library type room. Sheriff Forbes, Mayor Lockwood, and Honoria Fell were there. Rebecca understood Jonathan, Giuseppe, the Sheriff, and the Mayor, but . . . Honoria Fell? Wasn't she just a dressmaker? Maybe she was standing in for her husband, assuming she had one.

Giuseppe introduced her properly even though she'd spoken briefly to each of them at least once before. As they were all introduced, they began sitting down, all of them, on wooden chairs. Rebecca felt so out of place in that room, so young around this group of old people. They were acting stuffy and, amusingly enough, dead.

"Let's begin," Giuseppe said.

Jonathan, who was seated behind a desk, began riffling through papers and suddenly drew tools and other odds and ends out of the drawers in the desk.

"Fire," Giuseppe said. "Fire kills them as does beheading and a stake to the heart. There are herbs that can protect us. Vervain."

"Vervain?" Honoria asked.

"If you wear it, it will protect you," Rebecca said. She then explained it as she had to Giuseppe that it could be ingested as well as worn. It would weaken vampires if it got in their system.

"You're telling me that a flower will protect me?" Mayor Lockwood asked skeptically.

"It's an herb," Rebecca said, irritated by the mostly male energy in the room. "Wear it, don't wear it. Ingest it, don't ingest it. I don't really care, but I'm telling you the truth."

"We can discuss vervain later," Jonathan Gilbert said. "Honoria and Rebecca can assure we have a steady supply. But there are other ways to find the vampires."

All eyes fell on Jonathan as he spread a paper out over his desk. There was a complicated drawing on said paper of . . . compass parts?

"A compass?"

"Yes," Jonathan said excitedly. "But instead of finding north, it finds vampires."

"It'll work?" Giuseppe asked skeptically; Rebecca couldn't blame him for that one.

"It will."

"Hm. Here's what I propose then. Vervain. Mr. Gilbert, make sure the compass works and we make a plan. By month's end our town will be safe."  
\----------  
Once outside Rebecca told Giuseppe that she'd walk home. She used the excuse of patrolling when, in reality, she just wanted to be alone.

So far all she knew was that by the end of November, the town would find a way to get rid of all the vampires or they would die trying.

As Rebecca walked she found herself missing her I-pod. That was one material thing she missed from her time period - her music; so much better in her world.

She missed her dad in a weird way. Her dad was overbearing too, but at least he'd never hit her. She missed Jeremy and his little brother ways. She missed Elena, who was so much different than her look-alike. She missed Bonnie, who was sweet and caring. She even missed obnoxious Caroline.

She missed Chelsea and the complete innocence one could feel just from looking at her. She even missed taking care of her; Rebecca had taken it upon herself to be the girl's mom since she didn't have one.

Rebecca had held these things back in her subconscious for so long - Damon had helped - but now that they had dredged themselves up she couldn't push them back down. She had tried so hard to pretend she could make it here, but the truth was this wasn't her world. She wanted to go home; she just didn't know how to go about doing that. She wanted to take Damon with her even though she had one in her time period already. But the one from her world was completely different from 1864 Damon. She didn't really know him and she wasn't exactly sure how he felt about her. Sure, they got along okay, but she didn't know how much of that was an act and how much was real.

Suddenly someone lifted her and threw her against a tree. Ow. She hadn't been paying attention and now she was paying for it. Her back hit the solid tree and she fell to the ground and landed on her knees. A guy with black hair and a beard had attacked her.

She recognized him as Fredrick.

"You know it's not safe out here at night," he said, his tone mocking. "Especially for a slayer like yourself."

How did he know what she was? It wasn't like she wore a Slayer jacket or anything like that.

"I've been around a while," he said, obviously sensing her confusion. "I've met a few of your kind."

"Oh?" Rebecca stood up and grabbed the first branch thick enough to use as a stake. "Did you know it's rude to sneak up on people?"

He didn't say anything; he just moved so fast it was almost a blur and grabbed her by the throat and began choking her. For a split second she panicked. Then she grabbed his hand and twisted until he let go. That's when she realized . . . She was stronger than him. He seemed shocked by that fact.

"Fredrick, leave the girl alone," a commanding voice said from the shadows of the trees. "Let me handle it."

About ten other vampires stepped out of the darkness, two of which were Pearl and her daughter Annabelle. The others looked familiar, but she didn't know their names.

"Miss Stone, I'm going to try to convince Katherine that we should leave." Pearl said. "I realize she's taken something from you - or more precisely, someone - I'll try to get her to give him back."

"You don't know what it's like for us," Annabelle said. "People notice when we don't grow older. I like it here. I don't want to be sent away."

She didn't have to worry about being sent away, if the council had its way all the vampires would soon die.

"The animal attacks?" Rebecca asked.

"We need blood to live; we don't need it from humans. We can get it from animals. Some of us have less self-control than others."

Pearl looked pointedly at Fredrick.

"Now we are all being hunted. Just this afternoon Giuseppe Salvatore brought a vervain concoction at the apothecary. I know you told him about the vervain and I know you had a good reason. But people are going to start buying it now, which means they will start using it."

"Vervain is the least of your problems," Rebecca said. She didn't have a problem with Pearl or Annabelle or any of the others - aside from Katherine and now Fredrick. "The council is planning on rounding up all the vampires by the end of the month. Trust me, it would be in your best interest to leave as soon as possible."

Rebecca threw down her stake and turned to walk away. "We're done here," she said over her shoulder.  
\----------  
A little over a week later the town had its very first Founder's Ball. Rebecca didn't want to go; she really wasn't interested in those types of things. She knew that Giuseppe, his sons, and Katherine were going; Katherine was going with Stefan, which left Damon alone, sadly. So . . . That was how she found herself at the Founder's Ball watching Damon wish he were at the dance with Katherine.

Rebecca couldn't stay long. She had other, more pressing matters to attend to, but for now . . . she was at the original Lockwood mansion.

After the first waltz was over she took Damon's hand and led him away from the dance floor.

"Okay. This is a last ditch effort." Before Damon could comment on her terrible language, she continued. "I'm going to say something that you might not want to hear. You're . . . you need to snap out of it. Katherine is using a form of mind compulsion on you and it's making you miserable. You are wasting your time on someone who doesn't even see what a good thing she has."

"Mind compulsion?" Damon shook his head. "No, that's not possible."

"Really? Then you forgot about me all on your own? I mean that little to you?" That was all she had to hold onto. The fact that Katherine couldn't erase feelings. Memories, yes; feelings, no. They were still there even if Damon didn't remember why.

When Damon didn't say anything Rebecca just shook her head. There was no reasoning with someone who was being compelled.

"Okay, well . . . I can't say I didn't try. I'm going to go for a walk and then I'm going to go home."

"You shouldn't walk back alone. It isn't safe."

"Then come with me," she whispered. "Forget about Katherine for a few hours."

Damon sighed but let a small smile through anyway. "As you wish."  
\----------  
The walk home was quiet, peaceful and comfortable. Rebecca noticed Damon did his best to fulfill her wish. He dropped her off at her room, kissed her goodnight on the cheek in a friendly way, and she watched as he went to his own room.

After Rebecca was sure the house was empty save for the servants and Damon she snuck into Giuseppe's study. She'd told anyone who'd asked that she was looking for a book. Good excuse because the study was also the library.

Once inside she left the door unlocked; nothing said suspicious like locking a door once you got inside a room. The study was musty and hot even though it was the second week of November. She tried not to move anything much so that when Giuseppe returned he wouldn't know she'd been there. There was a leather bound book, which she took for a journal and found she was right when she opened it.

It was the same book he'd been writing in when she'd spoken to him that one time.

She didn't read much; she didn't care enough to. But she saw enough to know that her name was mentioned more than once and it made her laugh when she was called 'willful and insolent'. It was also hinted that the rest of the council members kept journals too. She needed to get her hands on those, see if she'd been written about. People in the future could not know she had poofed back into the past somehow.

Another thing she was interested in was the fact that Giuseppe knew about Emily being a witch. Emily Bennett; she was going to do something to help the council find the vampires. She was putting herself at risk to help the townspeople.

Putting the journal back in place, she moved on to the other things on the desk. A drawn out map of the town on the desk showed the places the council suspected vampires were residing. The apothecary was one of them.

Pearl and Annabelle. Rebecca felt a jolt of sympathy for Annabelle, who had been turned when she was so young she'd never have a chance at any kind of normal life. She would never be able to stay more than a few years in one place at any given time.

Then she went back to the journal to see what the map was about. The council was planning to catch all the vampires and take them to a church nearby. Fells Church. They were going to burn them to death. It would happen on the last day of November.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's another chapter done! As you can see I've changed it to where Damon was being compelled the whole time. Katherine is using Damon as a means to make sure Rebecca behaves because Katherine wouldn't understand that if she'd left Becca alone, Becca would've probably left her alone.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you guys think.


	10. Chapter Seven Companion Piece

Mystic Falls, 2009

That bitch.

The first time around Katherine hadn't had to compel him; he'd been completely and totally hers. Since Rebecca had gone back to mess everything up, Katherine had compelled him to completely forget what he and Rebecca had had. Damon from 1864 didn't know it, of course, because that was the beauty of compulsion; the person only remembered what the vampire wanted them to remember.

But when he'd been changed - he could kind of see where this was going - he remembered.

He'd hurt Rebecca because he'd just dropped her; not his fault, he'd been compelled. Probably because Katherine was greedy. And also because he'd been the perfect person to use to make sure Rebecca behaved. He'd been a pawn.

Damon could see it now because he was a vampire. He could see how much Rebecca was hurting - he assumed it was in the present time for her. She probably felt helpless and if she was anything like he thought she was then that probably made her feel like screaming. Damon didn't think she'd take too well to feeling helpless because usually she had an answer for everything. She took responsibility for things and always found a way to get something done. But . . . Katherine was ruthless and was using the thing that meant the most to Rebecca to keep her in line.

Damon wasn't surprised; Damon hadn't minded that even without the compulsion.

But as he continued remembering the new past he couldn't help thinking that Katherine wasn't Rebecca. It was a complete 180 from what he'd originally thought and Damon didn't know if he should let himself continue down that thought path.  
\----------  
His father had hit her! He'd hit Rebecca, a woman!

Damon had comforted her, sort of; she hadn't seemed to need much comforting, to be honest. She'd seemed more surprised than anything else.

They had talked and Rebecca had tried to convince him that they were better together than he and Katherine, and this time around they were. Because this time he was being compelled; this time it wasn't real.

And Rebecca had loved him - or if he thought about it in her present tense . . . She loved him now - even after the fact that he'd hurt her. She'd said that she wouldn't tell because he thought he loved Katherine. She couldn't hurt him that way.

Well, he'd have to wait to see how that played out, because she wasn't the first person to promise something to him. Nine times out of ten the promise didn't hold.  
\----------  
Damon knew Rebecca was the one who told the town about the vampires this time. Not Katherine specifically but about different methods of disposing of them. The town still didn't know about the protection stone known as Lapis Lazuli so she obviously hadn't exposed that secret. He was sure, though, that if it hadn't been for him she would have.

Jeeze, she was even looking out for the him in 2009. Though, it was only fair; he'd been the one to tell her about the stone anyway. He had been vague, of course, but . . . The point was the same.

Or I could just be deluding myself, he thought.

He did that sometimes. Logic-ed himself out of feeling things like gratitude or anything else, really. Him feeling things usually led to him doing something stupid.

But it was hard not to feel something when he had all these new memories rushing into his mind.

Since it was obvious that Rebecca wouldn't kill Katherine since it would hurt him he wondered how it would play out. He was obviously going to be turned or he wouldn't be here remembering these things, but once he died and came back he'd be able to remember that none of the feelings he had for Katherine were real, not this time. So how would Rebecca take him as a vampire?

He wondered how much else would change before Rebecca came back.

Begrudgingly, he admitted he kind of wanted her back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is short, but my Damon muse didn't have much to say about this companion piece. I'm going to go ahead and put the next chapter on as well, since this was so short it was just a tease!


	11. Chapter Eight

The last day of November, my butt, Rebecca thought. It had been two days since Rebecca had broken into Giuseppe's study and gotten wrong information. Probably planted information.

Two days, and now it was pandemonium at Veritas. The council was running around, panicked. Other townspeople she didn't know were in a state of hysteria. She was surprised there hadn't been any civilian casualties yet.

But there would be; she'd learned that much in history class - not that she paid that much attention in history class, but . . .

Rebecca was inside her room in Veritas when she heard something like a small thump. Then . . . "I'll take her! We'll leave and you'll never see us again."

Damon. And Katherine. She must've been found out.

She heard something that sounded like, "Then let me be killed!" come from Damon's mouth and then was surprised when he showed up in her room. There was anger and sadness all over his face. He even had tears in his eyes; they hadn't fallen onto his cheeks, but they were still there. She wished briefly that the tears were for her, but she also never wanted to be the cause of so much grief.

"Help me?" he asked brokenly.

She already knew the answer before he'd even finished the question. And because she couldn't stand to see the hurt look on his face, she agreed.

"What do you want me to do?"

Instead of answering he began leading her out of her room and then down the stairs.

"Did you know about this?" he asked, voice hard.

"No. Damon, no. I told Pearl and Annabelle and about ten others that they needed to get their group together and leave. She was supposed to tell Katherine. It - the attack - wasn't supposed to happen until the end of the month. I didn't want to tell you too early in case . . . In case they changed their minds."

"They took her," Damon said, voice shaking. "Stefan told . . . Father."

If Damon hadn't been pulling her forward, she'd have stopped short. Was this the reason Damon and Stefan didn't get along in the future? Because of a woman? Because . . . Because Stefan had betrayed Damon? Stefan, who Damon had trusted over everyone else.

And now, now if she didn't help Damon get Katherine back . . . he was going to be broken. Despite the fact that she knew if Katherine got free she'd lose Damon forever, she had to help him for the simple fact that she loved him and she'd rather see him compelled to be happy than to watch him be truly heartbroken because he couldn't be with the one he thought he loved.

"Damn it," she muttered. She realized she needed to save the evil-monster-of-death in order to save Damon. "You realize we may not have the time to save the other ones, right? So we focus only on Katherine."

"That was my plan," Damon said.

People with torches kept running by them, but nobody ever noticed they were there; they were too focused on the demons. Damon led her to the edge of the forest and she wondered what they were doing.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," he said.

Damon took off in the direction of the servants living quarters. He was probably going to Emily. Did he know she was a witch?

Then the other brother squatted down beside her.

"Stefan?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't -"

Rebecca shook her head. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I want to help."

She was just about ready to thank Stefan so much for his help - sarcastically, of course - considering all the damage he was causing. Then she saw there were bite marks on his neck; they were fresh enough to still be bleeding. She hoped he'd be okay.

As they watched she noticed that Jonathan captured Pearl and Rebecca felt a jolt of sympathy but knew she couldn't do anything for her. They had Pearl and all the other vampires in muzzles - like they were dogs. The vampires were being placed in a police wagon, and she didn't know how the vampires were getting it in their systems, but she could tell they were being weakened by vervain. And . . . They were being shot with wooden bullets. She had to admit it was nifty even if it was cruel.

It was weird having to sit still when she could practically feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, telling her to join the fray. She had the need to fight and she knew which side she should be fighting on. She'd gladly fight if they had attacked her, but locking them in a building and burning them to death was too gruesome for her to take part in.  
\----------  
When Damon finally returned they waited - Damon reluctantly agreed to let Stefan help, probably as a way to see if he really could trust him - until the wagon was unguarded, and then the three of them went to the makeshift prison. Rebecca yanked the back of the wagon open - it hadn't been locked. It was almost pitch black so it was hard to see, but Damon leapt inside anyway.

"Katherine?" he whispered and began searching.

"Damon?" a female voice answered. Her voice was muffled from the contraption on her face, but it was very obviously Katherine.

Rebecca bit her lip to keep from saying something she'd later regret. On the floor of the wagon were a dozen bodies; some had stakes in them, already dead. No one deserved to be treated this way, no matter what they were. Even Katherine, as evil as she was, didn't deserve to be treated like an animal.

Stefan went in, too, and helped get Katherine out and onto the ground. She had ropes binding her arms and legs. They'd been drenched in vervain, apparently, because her skin was covered in burn marks where the material had had contact. She was wearing one of those muzzle things and Stefan took it off while Damon undid the ropes. Then she heard a shot and she felt her heart stop for a second. Then . . .

"Damon . . ." That was Stefan's voice.

Damon was on the ground, blood oozing from his chest. Rebecca had forgotten Katherine the minute - second - she'd heard the shot ring out. Rebecca put her hands over the wound and pressed even though she knew there was no use.

"Damon!"

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God!

"No," she said. "No, no, no, no, no."

He was taking his last few breaths and Rebecca had his head on her lap and was caressing his face. She didn't even know if he could feel it, if he even knew she was there. He was white and she could tell he was going into shock.

She locked eyes with him and said, "Damon, I'm here."

Rebecca heard another shot but she didn't look up. She hadn't been the one to be shot so she knew it had been Stefan. And she knew she had to leave, if only for a few minutes. Damon's eyes no longer held any life and she scooted away from him; she couldn't die here.

She ran toward the woods and then, once in the solid darkness, she collapsed and tried to cry. She knew she should feel something, but she couldn't. Except for the fact that it felt like her heart had been ripped out. But of course, who can feel when they don't have a heart?  
\----------  
Finally the tears came. And once they did, they wouldn't stop. She'd lost the one thing that kept her here. And she still wasn't going back. Her chest had tightened so much it was hurting and her throat was burning. Her eyes were stinging and she could barely breathe for sobbing.

She cried until she heard someone calling her name; a female voice calling out to her. Rebecca didn't respond, though, because she couldn't exactly find her voice.

"Rebecca?" The voice was closer now and she recognized it as Emily's. "You have to come out of the woods. Please?"

Rebecca shook her head once or twice and then covered her face with her hands. She didn't want to move; she just wanted to be left alone. She didn't know if she could move even if she'd wanted to.

"Damon will need you when he wakes up."

"He's not waking up," Rebecca whispered because she couldn't make herself speak any louder. Her throat felt too swollen to say much of anything, really.

"Yes, he will. He'll have to make a choice. Katherine fed him her blood. He -"

"Died with it in his system." So Rebecca hadn't changed that? She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"He'll have to decide whether he wants to complete the change or . . ."

"Or?"

"Die," Emily said, somewhat sympathetic.

Rebecca shook her head, already feeling too much pressure in her chest. "If he sees me, it will impact his decision."

"Of course it will. He'll remember she compelled him and he'll remember how much he loves you."

"But . . . I can't be here for him. I don't know when I'll be sent back."

"I will help you explain it to him. You can show him something from the future. Make him believe you."

"Do you want him to turn?" Rebecca asked suspiciously.

"No. I think it's a curse. But Damon needs to know all of his options. He needs to know that you are one of them."

"But I'm not one! I can't stay here and it's not fair for him to have to wait one hundred and . . . forty-five years. So . . . Those are his options? To either die or . . . be alone for 145 years? I can't . . . make him choose between those."

What she'd said was true; it wouldn't be fair. But he didn't deserve to wake up alone either.

"Take me to him?"

Emily grabbed her hand and pulled her up. The two women walked slowly through the woods and Rebecca's heart began racing. Would Damon be the same? Would he feel the same? Would he blame her for not doing more to save Katherine since he knew she could?

As if Emily could sense her thoughts she said, "The church burned, Katherine was supposed to be inside. She and the others are underneath it."

"What?"

"Not all the vampires that were captured deserved to be killed. There's a tomb underneath the church. All the vampires in the church are now sealed in that tomb."

Rebecca's mind was reeling. If the vampires were locked inside a tomb they wouldn't be able to feed, and if they couldn't feed then . . . They would die anyway, right? They would . . . starve to death. Another horrible way to die. She almost preferred the horrible burning to death scenario; at least that way they would die quickly.

"They will not die. Their bodies will mummify, but they can be revived with blood. A future witch, Bennett witch, can open it. Jonathan Gilbert has my Grimiore and that holds the key to the spell."

These thoughts ran inside Rebecca's head for a while - same thoughts over and over again - until she and Emily came to the bodies of Stefan and Damon. They had been moved into the woods, and now the two women were moving them to a carriage, which had been set up by some guy Rebecca didn't know.

She vaguely wondered if Emmett and Jonas were okay, but she didn't really have time to worry about them if she wanted to get Stefan and Damon out of here before they woke up.

"Stefan can turn too, I take it?"

"Katherine has been compelling him to drink for weeks."

"Damon?"

"No compulsion was necessary. She made him think he loved her; he drank from her willingly."

Of course he had. Damon did whatever he had to for the people he loved. Even if it meant dying for them.

Rebecca hopped into the back of the carriage, as did Emily. She realized that the bullets had been taken out of both brothers, but she didn't ask how; she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Where're we going?"

"To the quarry outside of town."

Rebecca slowly unbuttoned Damon's shirt even though she really didn't want to see what a mess his chest was sure to be. She even closed her eyes for a second and just felt him. There were flakes of dried blood coming off on her hands, but she couldn't find a wound.

Her eyes snapped open and looked at Damon's bloody but otherwise flawless chest. Not that it wasn't always flawless, but . . . She'd been expecting a gunshot wound.

"Uh . . . Emily?"

"Vampire blood. It has restorative properties. Once the bullet was gone the wound healed on its own."

"Stefan is the same?"

"Yes, Rebecca."

She was relieved because she had no idea how to fix a bullet wound. She stayed by Damon's side the entire way just in case he woke up; she knew she'd freak out if she were in his position. Whatever his decision would be after he woke up, he would need her and she'd stay with him until she was sent back to her time period or until he sent her away.

When they arrived at the quarry, Rebecca dragged Damon to the edge of the water and laid him on the grass. She used his shirt to wipe away the blood from his chest. His skin wasn't as cold as she'd thought it would be, oddly enough, but she was glad. It gave her the illusion that he was still alive even though she knew he wasn't.

When Damon was clean she went about trying to get the blood out of his shirt. The stain was left pink instead of red. Then there was nothing to do but wait. She sat there, Damon's head on her lap, her caressing his face constantly just so he'd feel it when he woke up, thinking about exactly what she was going to do if Damon didn't become a vampire. She wouldn't be able to know him in the future - in her time period - and she'd have to get over the him from the past. She wondered if her convoluted logic made any sense at all.

As she continued caressing Damon she noticed the far away scent of fire and then she let herself fall away. She needed the numbness; it was a relief to not feel anything.  
\----------  
"Rebecca," Emily's voice called her back to earth for the second time that night. "When he wakes up put this on him."

This was his Lapis Lazuli ring she'd seen on him in the future.

"It protects him from the sun."

"I know."

"You know a lot," Emily said.

"Future girl, remember?" Rebecca said, trying to sound light but failing miserably.

"Hm. You need to change, or at the very least take your dress off. The blood on you will drive him crazy. He might not be able to -"

"Control himself. Got it."

So Rebecca was left in her blood-free slip. It was white and thin and it left her cold, but she could handle it. A small groan came from Damon and he had her full attention.

"Damon?" She ran her fingers through his hair. "Damon, can you hear me?"

"Mm . . . Becca?"

"It's me." Even she could hear the relief coating her voice. "I'm here."

"You're alive," he said, sitting up and finding it difficult.

Rebecca laughed and it was an almost hysterical sound.

"Yeah, I'm . . ." she broke off and took a deep breath. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was . . . shot?" Question, not a statement, like he wasn't certain. "You were there. Stefan. Katherine. Was she . . .?"

"They took her, Damon."

She saw his shoulders slump and his face crumple in pain. She hated adding salt to the wound, but . . .

"Stefan was shot too. And Damon, I . . . I ran away. Both you and Stefan had . . . Anyway, I didn't want to die."

Damon looked at her and she saw tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over. She wanted to hug him, comfort him somehow, but she wasn't sure if he would welcome it. Then Damon looked at his chest, noticing for the first time that his shirt was missing and that his wound wasn't there. He touched his unmarred skin in wonder.

"I, um . . . washed you off. And your shirt is as clean as it's going to get." She touched his shoulder gently. "Damon, do you know what's happening to you?

"I'm a vampire?" Again with the uncertainty.

"Not . . . Not yet."

Had Katherine not explained this to him? What had she been thinking? Oh, yeah, about herself. How could someone do that to someone and not explain how things worked first?

Rebecca handed him the Lapis Lazuli ring. There was a silver S in the middle of the blue stone for Salvatore like the Damon from her time period had told her.

"This will protect you from the sun if you choose to become a vampire. But you do have a choice, Damon." She swallowed against the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "To complete the transition you have to feed on human blood. If you don't then . . ."

"I'll die?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah." Rebecca felt that familiar tug on her heart and forced herself not to show him how bad she was hurting. "Yeah, you will die."

She embraced him gently and pulled him to her. She was careful because she didn't know how he felt. Was he in any pain? Was he uncomfortable at all?

"I'll stay with you until you pass . . . If that's your choice. You don't have to turn if you don't want to." She began scratching her fingers over his scalp reassuringly. "Look, I don't - I don't know what it is you're going through, but if you're - if you're in any pain or if there's anything that I can do . . ."

Damon blinked a few times before looking down. "The sun hurts my eyes."

Rebecca shifted so his face would be cast in shadow. She kept hold of him and continued caressing him in some way, just for comfort. She didn't know who she was trying to comfort more, him or herself.

"Stefan's here, too. Somewhere." She'd been more preoccupied with Damon - he was her priority. "And Emily. She gave me that ring for you."

"Did you find us?"

"Emily and I did. She found me in the woods, and then we found you."

Suddenly Emily was beside them like she'd known they where talking about her. "Tell him, Rebecca. He needs to know."

"Know what?" Damon asked, lifting his head and looking between the two women. "What's she talking about, Rebecca? What are you not telling me?"

This time it was Rebecca's shoulders that had slumped; she didn't want Damon to know this yet. It might make him do something he'd later regret.

"He knows about magic, Rebecca. It is nothing new to him."

"Magic? Are you a witch too?"

Rebecca almost groaned. Knowing about magic didn't mean he'd believe her about the whole . . . future thing. But Damon now knew she was keeping something from him.

"I'm not a witch. Um . . . You know how I said I didn't know where I came from and you knew somehow that I did, I just didn't want to talk about it? Well, that was true."

"Then where are you from?" he asked, full attention on her.

"I'm from Mystic Falls, Damon. Only I'm from the year 2009"

Damon didn't say anything, much like he hadn't the night he'd found out she was the Slayer - speaking of, there was still a lot he didn't know about that; there was a lot she still didn't know.

"Back at your house I have clothes from my time period. Jeans and a T-shirt; women wear them all the time where I come from - or when I come from. I have a cell phone, which is a communications device from my time period. It's kind of funny, but in 1876 a man is going to invent something called a telephone. If you become a vampire, you'll see I'm telling the truth. Uh . . . Emily thought I should tell you because . . . Because you deserve to know that . . . that I can't stay here."

Before Damon could feel betrayed or like she was abandoning him she said, "I don't know when but I will have to go back. Whenever the spell runs its course I have to go back. I won't have a choice."

She cupped his face in her hands.

"One day I won't be here and if you choose to turn you need to know that I'm not abandoning you. I wouldn't do that. But I'll be waiting in my time period for you, if that's what you want."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Damon," Emily said softly. "Katherine has been compelling you. Your love for her wasn't real. You will remember how you felt about Rebecca. But if you really want to be with her, it will have to be in her time period because she won't be allowed to stay here. It is against the laws of nature that she's here at all."

Damon put his head in his hands like he was getting a migraine all of a sudden. Information overload, maybe.

"I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to base your decision on that. I want you to do what you want to do because you want to do it. It shouldn't have anything to do with me since I won't be here with you."

Nothing was said about the subject for a while and then Stefan finally awoke. All Rebecca could think was that the Salvatore brothers were taking all of this way too well. They were going to die; did they not understand that? Yet they were calmly discussing it like they would the weather.  
\----------  
By the time night fell again Damon had begun to remember how Katherine had made him think he had loved her and how he'd treated Rebecca because of it. He'd also decided not to turn because he didn't want to live without her and he knew he'd have to if what she'd said was true. Rebecca had no reason to lie, not now, so he believed her.

He resented the fact that Katherine had cut his time with Rebecca short, and he felt stupid and used. He remembered now that every time he'd been around Katherine he'd felt he'd had to do whatever it was she wanted even when he didn't understand why.

Stefan had gone to say good-bye to Giuseppe, which Damon had seen Rebecca roll her eyes at. Giuseppe didn't care about them. He probably didn't even notice they were gone.

And God, Damon felt awful. His whole body was aching and his mouth hurt. His gums were throbbing and his teeth were sensitive. It was his body's way of pushing him to feed. He was so hungry and he knew he shouldn't be so close to Rebecca right now, but he had yet to feel the urgent need to attack her, so he was fairly certain she was safe.

"If you knew Katherine was compelling me, why didn't you kill her?"

"Because," Rebecca said, touching his cheek, "it would've hurt you. And because you wouldn't have remembered it was compulsion. You would've remembered it being real, and you would've hated me forever."

He turned his head away, not because her words affected him so much, but more because her blood was getting to him. He could hear the blood flowing through her veins and it was making him feel edgy . . . er. Edgier.

"All that time I was hurting you and you didn't leave," he said, a little awed.

"Well, it wasn't you. She made you, I don't blame you. I told her to leave you alone and it just made her mess with you even more."

Things were silent then and she sighed. Damon wondered if she blamed herself for how things turned out. She shouldn't; she'd warned him what Katherine was doing, he just hadn't been able to listen.

"Tell me something about the future," he requested. Since he was just going to die anyway it couldn't hurt to know.

She looked at him and he could tell she was unhappy because her emerald eyes had lost their sparkle, their shine.

"Women have more power there. They don't have to watch what they do, what they say. That's the world I grew up in; that's why I am the way I am. Colored people are free, and it's no big deal if white people and black people are friends in my time period. It's completely normal there." She bit her lip and his eyes were drawn there. "And I'm gonna miss you."

The raw pain in her voice made his breathing hitch and his unbeating heart ache. He would've pulled her into his arms to comfort her but he didn't think it was safe for her.  
\----------  
Damon had been getting weaker and weaker, and Rebecca was just watching for the time to come when he'd pass and she'd hopefully get to leave this place. She didn't want to be here without him.

Rebecca felt her slayer sense kick in and she stood up and looked around. Emily had left hours ago so she was on her own.

"I'll be right back," she told Damon. Please don't die until I get back to you, she added silently.

She picked up a random piece of wood - a sturdy piece, of course - and followed where her senses were taking her. She noticed she didn't have that weird being-watched vibe anymore; it was just an off feeling and it could lead her when she let it.

She ended up in the woods - the dark, scary woods - and she stopped and just listened. She felt as if she was being watched now and it was unnerving.

"Rebecca? It's Stefan. Everything's going to be alright."

Then someone - was it really Stefan? - grabbed her and yanked her neck to the side. It all happened so fast she didn't even have time to scream. A hand was placed over her mouth anyway and a sharp pain then emanated from her neck; it felt like she was being stabbed. Then her blood was flowing freely into the vampire's mouth.

He had one arm wrapped around her middle to keep her from struggling, though she was losing blood so fast she'd kind of gone limp right from the beginning. She couldn't move, she could barely stay awake, and then he was picking her up in his arms and no longer drinking from her.

God, she wasn't dead yet, but she was going to be.  
\----------  
Damon was content with dying. Rebecca would miss him, but she'd go back to her time period and she would find someone else. Someone better. She loved him enough to respect his wish of not accepting immortality. If she could stay with him . . . Maybe he'd have turned. Maybe. But she'd made it clear she couldn't; she'd been honest. Completely honest.

"Damon?" Stefan's voice called from behind him.

Damon still hadn't forgiven his brother because the truth of the matter was . . . Whether the affair with Katherine had been real or not, Stefan had still betrayed him. Stefan had still broken his trust.

But Damon turned to him anyway. Rebecca was in Stefan's arms, bleeding, and Damon knew what had happened.

"You fed. On her."

On my Rebecca, he thought possessively. Then he checked himself because Rebecca didn't belong to anyone, least of all him.

"Is she . . ." He was going to say 'dead' but then she moved. She looked at him with her emerald eyes that he loved so much. They were only half-open, like she was fighting off sleep, only he was sure she was fighting off something much more permanent: Death.

"What have you done?" Damon felt a slow rage building inside him. "Give her to me."

Why was Stefan all the time taking things from him? Damon had been there for Stefan through everything and now he was taking the one thing that still meant something to him.

"You need to drink, Damon," Stefan pressed.

Oh, that was what he wanted?

"No," Damon said, shaking his head. "I won't do it." Not to Rebecca, he wouldn't.

He said the words, but hunger had started a fire in his stomach. Just from looking at the red liquid on Rebecca's neck, his throat was crying out with thirst.

"It's easy," Stefan said. "Don't fight it."

Damon was, for once, weaker than Stefan, but when he saw Stefan going for Rebecca's neck Damon sprung into action. Rebecca was defenseless and Damon wasn't going to let her die. Not like this. He pulled her from Stefan's arms, but in the process it got him closer to her blood; the blood he could almost taste for wanting it so badly. He wanted so much to push her away, but he couldn't, and he felt Stefan pushing his head down to her neck.

Damon fought, he did, with everything he had, but Damon wasn't strong enough. And the second his lips touched Rebecca's neck he knew it was over. He couldn't fight anymore.

His first few sips were tentative - there was still that small human part that told him blood was not food and couldn't taste good - until he tasted how sweet the blood was. It was like he'd been starving and dying of thirst and Rebecca was his oasis. The liquid did amazing things to his body; he felt powerful, like he could do anything.

He drank more greedily and he felt his canines elongate. If he hadn't been so preoccupied with nourishing himself, he might have acknowledged the pain. The only thing that broke through his frenzy was the soft little cry Rebecca made coupled with the sound of her heartbeat slowing down - it was dangerously slow. Her voice filled his head; something she'd said about a month ago: A vampire doesn't have to kill when they feed.

But he wanted to; he didn't want to stop drinking.

He tore himself away from her and stared in horror. Rebecca was barely breathing and her eyes were closed. She was white as a ghost. Damon bit his own lip to keep from lowering his head back down to finish the job Stefan had started.

"Are you happy now, Stefan?" Damon seethed.

Damon hoped he wasn't damning himself as well as Rebecca, but he bit into his wrist and when the blood flowed he put it to her mouth and hoped enough would get into her system to help her. Sure enough, the wound on her neck closed and he breathed a sigh of relief. Now, he had to wait to see what would happen. At least she wasn't bleeding out anymore.

He then turned to Stefan, his face an emotionless mask.

"Well, you got what you wanted. You and me. Together for eternity. But hear this, brother. I will make it an eternity of misery for you."

He'd almost killed Rebecca because of his dear brother. And now . . . Now Damon felt this irrational need to make Stefan miserable. Actually, Damon felt like he was going to explode. Everything he'd felt before was nothing compared to what he felt now. Everything was magnified.

Rebecca interrupted his thoughts when she began moaning on the ground and all his attention went to her. His love for her had grown so much that it almost hurt; a different kind of hurt than had formed from Stefan's betrayal - on both counts - and different than the hurt that had come from being used by Katherine. This was a good hurt.

Each emotion, each feeling led straight back to him being thirsty. Damon knelt by her side and helped her sit up when she tried to. He held his breath so as not to be too tempted by the scent of her blood.

Rebecca grabbed her head as if it were hurting or as if she were dizzy.

"Damon?" Her voice was weak; if he weren't a vampire he probably wouldn't have heard it. He started when she touched his face and wiped the blood from his chin. "What happened?"

"You . . . don't remember?"

"I was in the woods. Stefan -" she glared in his direction "- snuck up on me and then there was pain. I sort of blacked out after that. Did he hurt you?"

She was concerned for him after what he'd done? He was loathe to tell her it was partly his fault for the state she was in.

"He brought you to me. You were bleeding and I . . . I'm sorry."

Her hand flew to her neck and she made the connection. He saw regret - surprisingly no fear - and sorrow, and then she was wrapping her arms around him, apologizing for . . . amusingly enough, bleeding. He found that if he didn't breathe in her scent he could control himself with ease.

Damon let out a soft chuckle at her mumbling. She'd known he hadn't wanted to turn, she was sorry Stefan had brought her to him, sorry he'd been forced to drink. Sorry it had been from her because now she'd always know it was partly her fault that he'd been tempted too strongly.

What was she going on about? It wasn't her fault his brother had attacked her. And it wasn't her fault that it was in his nature to want to feed from her now; her blood would nourish his body. It was an urge he knew he'd need to learn to control or else it would be a weakness like his brother's apparent bloodlust.

Speaking of blood . . . "Rebecca, you need to be careful. I fed you my blood to heal you. I don't know how long it will stay in your system."

He'd have to keep Stefan away from her; he knew that Stefan would kill her without blinking. He wanted to make sure that didn't happen - Rebecca would not have to make the same choice he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so . . . yeah, this is what I came up with. How is all this going to effect Rebecca? Anyway, in Stefan's Diaries it says Damon didn't want to be a killer at first, he didn't want to be a monster, he'd only decided to become a vampire because he wanted to be with Katherine - he wouldn't have chosen that otherwise, so that's how I wrote it.
> 
> As always, let me know what you guys think.


	12. Chapter Nine

Rebecca was weak; she'd nearly been killed - friggin' Stefan. Their friendship was out the window. She found she couldn't even walk on her own and it was embarrassing. She couldn't stand up or do much of anything else since both Damon and Stefan had fed from her. Her blood was obviously low in her system.

She, Stefan and Damon had moved back into the Salvatore house. She'd warned them about Veritas and how the townspeople would probably be hunting them now. They couldn't be seen by anybody. Stefan didn't seem to care one way or the other; Damon said they'd be careful, but they needed a place to stay. She needed a place to stay and food and a way to stay warm. Stefan and Damon couldn't get sick anymore, but she still could.

Damon had been the one to point that out. His . . . heightened emotions made him obsessively protective of her. It was okay since she had no way of protecting herself now, and she didn't mind his company anyway.

When she'd said they couldn't get in without being invited into the house Stefan decided to tell them that Giuseppe was no longer alive. No invite was necessary.

Damon had destroyed the town's vervain supply only because he or Stefan might have to compel people not to mention them or to stay away from Veritas. There had been a fire in the parlor of the mansion and Rebecca didn't know exactly what had happened, but she could tell people had been burned there. It wasn't so much that there was physical evidence as much as it was the stench from the flesh that had been burnt.

Stefan had been feeding from the servants and neither Damon nor Rebecca was able to control Stefan. Tabitha had been the first to go. She'd done it to save her sons. Rebecca had told Emmett and Jonas to run after that. She didn't know how far they'd gotten.

Damon never left her alone with his brother; he said it was because he no longer trusted Stefan to leave her alive. Rebecca knew she couldn't do anything about it now, but she'd kept count of how many times Stefan had fed - on average he needed at least two full bodies of blood a day. And he didn't just feed; he killed and relished in it, then Damon would have to clean up Stefan's mess.

She wondered how the Stefan from her time period had been able to say anything bad about Damon when he was like this. Rebecca had been sure Damon had been the one to attack Vicki, but now she wasn't so sure. Stefan had been there both times too. It wasn't just Damon.

Speaking of Damon, he didn't seem to want to feed at all even though the damage had already been done. And he needed to feed to keep his strength up, and so he wouldn't starve. Starving couldn't feel good.

Rebecca noticed he also had trouble with his emotions. No, he hadn't started spouting out poetry to her or anything like that, but his love for her had intensified. Everything else, too, had become more intense. She wasn't sure what that meant for him, she just knew it was hard for him and she wanted to help him make that adjustment.

She'd taken to staying in Damon's room since Stefan was uncontrollable. Damon seemed calmer when she was around, though she noticed that when he was feeling something intensely it made his face change. Red eyes, veins protruding under them, fangs. His vampire face.

It was because everything was still so new to him. He'd learn how to control it someday. She'd kissed him once and he'd lost control and had had to pull away. But at least he could; he had the restraint to do that, with her at least. She'd wanted to cry when he'd thought he'd needed to hide his face from her in those loss-of-control moments. He was . . . ashamed of being a vampire?

Her mind flashed back to future Damon hiding his face from her once and she wondered if he - calm, cool, and collected Damon - had done that because he'd lost control for a split second. She also wondered if she was lucky to still be alive. But if he had lost control it had been because she'd moved him, touched him in some way.

But back to the present time in the past: Damon had turned his face away so he could hide it from her. She'd been gentle and reassuring of the fact that she didn't care that he was a vampire.

"It doesn't have to change who you are, Damon."

She caressed his face until his canines went back to their normal length and his red eyes changed back into the beautiful blue that she could easily get lost in.

"You shouldn't have to see me when I'm like that," he said softly, grabbing her hand.

Oh, my sweet Damon, Rebecca thought, but she didn't comment on what he'd said. She just decided to take his mind off of it. New vampires seemed to be easily distracted.

"Damon?" Every time she said his name he sort of snapped to attention and almost every ounce of his focus went to her. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything." So simply said and the response had been pretty much automatic. It was a little scary, but good to know that she wasn't the only one who was powerless in this relationship.

"You know how I said I don't know how long I'm going to be here?"

He nodded and grimaced at the same time.

"Okay, well, your father kept a journal and so do the other council members. Giuseppe mentioned me and the others may have, too. When the time comes and I'm not here anymore, I need you to get rid of any evidence that I was here, okay? I don't think anyone from my time period would make the connection with just a name, but if they did it would not go well for me."

Damon smoothed her hair back from her face and smiled softly - his first smile since he'd been turned. "Consider it done."

"Thank you." Then she bit her lip and looked away, already feeling guilty for what she was about to ask. "If I asked you to, in a few days, feed from me again, would you?"

He was already shaking his head. "I could kill you."

True enough, Rebecca thought. And then it hit her that something was seriously wrong with her because she was willing to risk her own neck to keep him fed.

"Well . . . Feed from an animal. Pearl said some vampires do that to keep from feeding on people. Human blood keeps you at full strength, but animal blood will work if you're that against drinking from a human. But the truth is the longer you put off feeding, the bigger the risk you have of killing someone because when you finally do get it you're not gonna be able to stop. Plus, if you continue not to feed, you'll get weaker and seeing as to how I'm not in the best shape I can't take on Stefan if he attacks me again."

She knew that was mean and manipulative of her to use that against him, but it was all she had.

"That last part is not fair." Damon almost pouted and she had to hide a grin.

"No, none of this is fair, but it's true." She put one hand on either side of his face. "I don't want you to lose control like Stefan. Stefan isn't even a vampire; he's a vicious, violent animal."

"About that," Damon said. "Why can he not control it?"

"Well, I'm not an expert but . . . I think it's because Stefan had this nice, structured life that his dad built for him. I can't be sure because I've never been around new vampires, but I think it's because he never did what he wanted so now he's having a bout of teenage rebellion or something. He's had a taste of freedom and power and it's going to his head. And . . . He's shut his humanity out; he doesn't care anymore."  
\----------  
Once Rebecca was strong enough to move around on her own Damon let her help him feed. He'd thought of what she'd said and decided he didn't want to become like Stefan either. Stefan was careless and clumsy. He'd left a trail of bodies all over Mystic Falls; it was a miracle Stefan hadn't been captured and killed.

Damon wouldn't become that. He could be a vampire without becoming a monster or a killer - he just had to learn how. He could be careful and not kill his food source. Speaking of food, he was delighted to find he could still eat human food - Rebecca had taught him that. Actually, he found his body worked normally as long as he fed properly. His heart even beat when he was healthily fed. It was strange to him because dead people didn't need beating hearts. Or they shouldn't, he didn't think.

It had been seven days now since Rebecca had been bitten, since Stefan had attacked her and since Damon himself had drank from her. He'd taken her advice and had fed from a few animals - it wasn't ideal; in fact it was downright disgusting, but it kept him from killing people - but now she was going to let him drink again from her. Her scent alone was intoxicating so he knew the taste would be hard to resist. But he'd done it before; he could - would - do it again. He knew that if he lost control just once he could kill her. He was, after all, supposed to be a hunter now, a predator.

Damon kissed her first, an apology in advance for the pain he knew he was about to cause her.

"You won't hurt me," she said with more confidence than he thought he deserved because he could hurt her and that was the problem.

Damon laid her on his bed in case she fainted again like she'd done the time before. They shared a room and a bed now - in the sense of sharing; it was strictly for protection purposes.

He knew from experience with Katherine that being bitten didn't have to be completely painful, but he didn't yet have the experience or the control to make it pleasurable for Rebecca and he was sorry for that since she was so willing to help him.

Only when Rebecca was completely relaxed did he travel down to her neck and let his canines elongate. He grazed her skin a few times and almost smiled when she shivered. He could tell it was in anticipation and not fear; he would've been able to smell the fear.

He used just the tips of his sharp teeth and made two small puncture wounds. He was experimenting; he needed to know what hurt her and what didn't. He assumed he wasn't causing her pain when she buried her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. Then he was biting down harder and controlling how fast the blood flowed.

Rebecca's blood tasted sweet, like she was, and strong, also like she was. There was something else, something not . . . normal. Her slayer thing maybe? It made the blood more powerful, which in turn made him more powerful. He could also taste how much she loved him, if that made any sense at all.

Damon had to keep reminding himself to be careful because it was Rebecca he was drinking from. He knew that if it was any other human he wouldn't be able to control himself. But since it was Rebecca he pulled away when her breathing turned just the tiniest bit shallow and went about making sure her neck healed properly. He gave her the least amount of his blood she would need to heal and then he just held her until she went to sleep.

He wished she could stay with him. Partly because he loved her and partly because he hated the thought of facing the next 145 years alone. He would survive, though, if only to get to be with her again.

With those thoughts in his head he went to sleep.  
\----------  
When Damon woke up he was alone, but he could hear Rebecca downstairs. He also heard music, a piano it sounded like.

He got up, stretched, and followed the music to the ballroom of Veritas. He knocked before entering. Rebecca was playing the piano on the stand where the band would be if they were holding a dance. The music wasn't familiar, but he figured it was because it was a song from her time period.

Her green eyes connected with his blue ones and her fingers froze over the keys.

"Don't let me interrupt," he said, smiling and going to sit beside her on the bench for the instrument. "Continue."

Rebecca's face flushed - it was even more attractive now - and her heart sped up.

"I haven't played in front of anybody in a long time."

"Define long time," he said.

"Going on four years?" She began playing anyway. "This is not my song, by the way."

Damon nodded and let the music wash over him. He was happy she was finally sharing this with him even if the music was extremely loud to his newly sensitive ears.

This new song Damon did recognize - Mozart. The words weren't familiar, but the music was.

Rebecca's voice had control in it and Damon could tell she had had lessons before. The way she was singing made him wonder about her even more, though, because she acted like she was part of the music, like she was living the music. Her voice was soothing to him.  
\----------  
When the song was over Rebecca looked down shyly. Damon had been quiet during her . . . performance, and she really couldn't tell anything from his expression except that he was peaceful now.

She loved that she could give him that. She didn't know what he was going to do when she had to leave. She hoped he didn't go too crazy, that he didn't do any damage to himself that she couldn't help him fix later.

"So . . . Music from the future, not what you expected?"

"The music is fine. You probably picked that one on purpose. It was an interesting song choice. You . . . seem to connect to it."

She shrugged. "No reason why. I just . . . really love music."

"You are very talented, Miss Rebecca." Laughter danced in his eyes.

"Thank you, my sweet Damon," she'd said it lightly and smiled when a healthy flush filled his cheeks. She caressed his heated skin briefly before turning back to the piano just to press the keys randomly. She was giving him time to recompose his face if he wanted.

Just then Stefan stepped into the ballroom with three girls that were around Rebecca's age. She groaned inwardly. Stefan was going to get them all in trouble.

"What are they doing here?" Damon asked, his peacefulness suddenly gone. "Leave them alone, Stefan."

Stefan was killing the townspeople - revenge maybe? - but regardless of the cause he was still evil and needed to be stopped. He was compelling these girls to not be afraid at least. But they would still end up dead. And why was it so hard for Stefan to be good? Damon had been the wild one, so why was it not the other way around? Not that Rebecca wanted Damon to go on an irrational, uncontrollable killing spree, but . . . It was still a valid question.

Damon was still Damon; Stefan was a completely different person. If the word person could be used to describe Stefan when he was more animal now than human. Whereas Damon had kept his humanity fully intact.

Rebecca . . . She loved Damon so much it made it hard to breathe. Sometimes it was even hard to think around him. He sometimes made her head foggy just by being in the same room with her. Like now. Here she was thinking of Damon when she should be focusing on the fact that Stefan was killing people.

Right. Stefan . . .

"Have you been going into town?" she asked. "That's dangerous, Stefan. They will find you."

"I'm dangerous," Stefan declared almost proudly.

"You don't have to be. And anyway you're not the kind of danger I'm talking about. The townspeople have a way of finding vampires. A compass. Someone was working on it. Seeing as to how most of the vampires have been captured . . . I think it's safe to say the compass works."

"A compass?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. Yes. It points at vampires instead of pointing north. I didn't think he could pull it off, but I was wrong."

Rebecca didn't want to name names, not around Stefan. He'd go and kill whoever it was she was talking about just out of spite.

Damon grabbed Rebecca's shoulders and began leading her away and she let him. She'd do whatever to make him feel better. Only, on the way out Stefan grabbed her by the hips and jerked her against him. She let out a gasp of surprise.

"I want a turn," he said, moving Rebecca's hair from her neck.

Damon's cheek twitched with irritation. "Well, too bad for you because I'm not sharing. Now give her back to me before you do something I'll make you regret."

"I'm not afraid of you."

Rebecca thought Stefan sounded like a petulant child.

"Oh, you should be, dear brother," Damon said. "You should be."

Rebecca stood as still as she could be while Stefan had her; she knew that if she fought right now while she was in Stefan's arms that the predator in him would make him attack her faster and more brutally.

"There will be other Rebecca's, Damon. Let me have her."

Rebecca noticed that Damon's eyes were getting angrier and angrier; if Stefan wasn't careful he would have a very pissed off Damon on his hands.

Damon looked at Rebecca and, as if they were on the same wavelength, she nodded her head at him. In all of about two seconds Damon had Stefan pinned to the ground; Rebecca had known exactly when and how to move so Damon wouldn't have any chances to hurt her.

Was that because they had exchanged blood the night before? Or were they just made for each other? Either way, the result was the same. Rebecca didn't get eaten and neither did the three girls Stefan had brought home; Rebecca escorted them out while Damon beat the tar out of Stefan.

It seemed like Rule #1 with Damon was to not threaten anyone he cared about. And apparently Rebecca took priority over Stefan at the moment.

Rebecca went outside to sit on the porch even though it was cold. Well, cool - November in Virginia wasn't always frosty. Actually it was mild compared to other places. She kept the three girls with her; she had to wait for Damon so he could compel them to forget they were ever here.

She felt rather than saw or heard as Damon came out the door. He did what she'd been thinking without having to be told, and then he sat beside her and she leaned against him.

"We need to either stop him or help him, Damon. If he keeps going into town he's going to get all of us killed. They'll track him back here to you and to me."

"Well, then maybe we should leave," Damon suggested.

"Um . . ." Rebecca grimaced. "I don't know if I can. I might wake up in another state or something when I go back."

"So I'll come get you," Damon teased softly.

Rebecca giggled and shook her head. "Yeah, you would."

Unless she was totally messing up his future and he didn't even live to see her in the future. She didn't want to even entertain that thought.

"I love you, Damon." She made it a point to tell him that because she wasn't sure when she'd have to leave.

She noticed he was breathing heavily so she gave him a few seconds to regain control before looking at him. Apparently it wasn't only his emotions he had problems with.

"It's okay if you can't say it back yet. I just needed you to know how I felt . . . so there'd be no room for doubt later."

A genuine smile pulled at his lips and said, "You have no idea how happy that makes me, Miss Rebecca."

"Well, you know me. I aim to please. Sometimes." She wanted him to be happy at least. He needed some happiness.  
\----------  
The next night, Rebecca, Damon and Stefan went into town, only they stayed away from the densely populated areas and the areas where they would be recognized.

Damon and Rebecca had agreed without actually speaking that they would try to help Stefan so they could help themselves. Damon didn't want to put Rebecca in more danger than he already had, so if teaching Stefan some control was what he had to do he would do it.

They were at a seedy tavern where most of the customer's were drunkards so they wouldn't remember them in the morning anyway. Damon, Stefan, and Rebecca sat at a table. Or they had been; Stefan was now talking with three women who either hadn't heard of the Salvatore brothers or didn't know what they looked like. Both Rebecca and Damon were watching him, making sure he didn't cause any lasting damage.

"Can you multi-task?" Rebecca asked. "Listen to me and him at the same time?"

"Yes." He smiled softly. "Though I'd much rather just listen to you."

Rebecca's eyes sparkled at his flirting and she glanced at the table before looking back up at him. She always did that whenever he became . . . extra-charming, looked away before looking back.

Suddenly Damon tightened his jaw. He was around so many people and he hadn't fed for almost two days. He knew it was only because Rebecca was there. He didn't want her to think he was a monster so therefore he couldn't act like one, not like Stefan. Even if every instinct he had told him to feed, to quench the thirst he had. Just one person, what would it hurt? But he also knew that one would lead to one more and then another. It would never stop.

Then Rebecca would hate him, but then again . . . he would hate himself, so why would she be any different?

Damon lowered his head as he felt the skin under his eyes tighten and his gums ache when his canines elongated. Did that ever go away? He covered his face and tried to massage the ache away.

"Breathe through it," Rebecca whispered. "You're better than Stefan."

Better than Stefan, Damon thought. Rebecca was the first person to say that to him and it gave him a warm, tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't hate it.

"You don't have to kill to feed, Damon. You're stronger than him. You know how to do it without killing. You've done it before."

"Only with you." And that was the problem; he didn't know if he could control himself with other people. He didn't really care about anybody else.

"Yes, but you know the signs to look for. Shallow breathing, slow heartbeat, uh . . . Paleness?" She seemed unsure of the last one.

"Yes, paleness." He watched as Stefan took one of the women he'd been talking to toward the door of the tavern. "Don't kill her, Stefan," he said, knowing full well his brother could hear him and probably wouldn't listen.

"Okay, um . . . Find somebody," Rebecca said. "Find somebody here."

"Why here?"

"Look around," she instructed, placing a gentle hand on his knee. Her touch startled him at first since he hadn't seen it coming, but he relaxed fast enough. "The people here, what do you see?"

"Um . . . A lot of people who probably don't have anyone to go home to."

"Right. Now, you still need to be careful, but . . . If you're going to feed - especially now when you might slip - it should be on people that nobody will miss. Homeless people, um . . . Prostitutes . . . People like that."

Damon watched as she grimaced and he automatically knew it was because she couldn't believe she was having this conversation.

"I'm not saying it's okay to kill them because they're homeless, but it's the best way to be careful. No one can report you missing if no one knows you existed in the first place."

"It's still . . . wrong," Damon muttered and she smiled.

"Yes, it is." She caressed his cheek. "I'm very glad you know that. It means you're still you."

Rebecca hated telling Damon that if he slipped up she would understand, because she didn't want him to slip up. He was doing so well with the control thing, so much better than Stefan. What was wrong with the younger Salvatore anyway? Couldn't he see what a monster he was becoming? Or did he just not care?

But she would understand and she'd be there for Damon just the same. Well, as long as she was allowed to be here anyway.

"I think we should see what your brother is up to," she said. "Even if no one will miss the girl he's with she shouldn't have to die on purpose."

"Agreed."  
\----------  
Once outside, Rebecca used her slayer radar to track Stefan; he hadn't gone that far. He and the woman were in an alley near the tavern and he was tearing into her neck. Jeeze, didn't he have any manners at all?

"That's enough, Stefan," Damon said.

Well, Damon could talk all he wanted; Rebecca could clearly see that it wasn't working. So she broke a wooden crate that was in the alley and picked up a sharp piece and jammed it into Stefan's side. She wasn't going to kill him - that would affect the future too much and Stefan was Damon's brother . . . She couldn't do that to him unless she had permission from him.

Stefan's head arched back and he growled in pain. He'd turned around, snarling and dropping the girl to the ground. His hands went straight to the wood and he yanked it out.

Damon, whose eyes were wide like he hadn't expected her to react so violently, stepped in front of her to shield her in case Stefan retaliated.

"You're a meddlesome girl," Stefan said, tossing the wood away. "Now I need a new shirt."

Rebecca blinked a few times. She'd stabbed him and he was thinking of a new shirt? And someone was bleeding because of him . . . and he was worried about his clothes. She went around the two brothers to the bleeding woman. Her skin held almost no color and her neck was bleeding profusely.

"Stefan," Rebecca said softly yet with an edge. "Come here."

Stefan looked at her - or glared murderously at her; Damon looked at her curiously and maybe a little cautiously. He'd never seen her react like that; he probably hadn't even known she could.

"What for?" Stefan asked.

"You did this," Rebecca said. "This is your mess, you will clean it up. Now come here."

"She's just a human. One human among millions. Who cares if -"

"I care," Rebecca interrupted. "Now bite your wrist and put it to her lips. Let her drink. It will heal her; it will save her.

Stefan agreed reluctantly and knelt beside her; Rebecca tensed immediately - bloodthirsty animal and all that - and Damon moved closer. She watched carefully as Stefan fed the woman his blood. Her neck healed slowly because of how badly she'd been attacked. But eventually the woman woke up.

"Now compel her to forget we were ever here." She nudged Stefan with her shoulder and watched him make eye contact with the girl/woman. "You need to learn how to stop feeding before the person you feed from dies. Control isn't just not attacking people. You can do better; you don't have to be this way."

"I am a vampire."

"Vampire doesn't lead straight to monster, or killer, for that matter." She shut up long enough for Stefan to erase the memory of the woman being attacked. "Now we are going to find her a nice, safe place for her to sleep for the night."

"I'm not a child, Rebecca," Stefan seethed.

"Funny, she had to punish you like one." Damon seemed almost amused because of Rebecca's lesson-teaching. Then he looked at her, amusement still there, but less so than before. "Remind me not to make you angry."

She couldn't help the open grin that stretched across her face. Future Damon never would've said something like that. Remind me to never make you angry.

But most of the time the only thing a hard-headed person needed was to be taught that everyone else wasn't going to take their crap anymore. She'd obviously showed Stefan that. Hopefully, he got the message.  
\----------  
Rebecca went back inside the tavern to make sure nobody had seen anything or was saying anything. Nobody seemed suspicious of her and nobody was talking about anything that was amiss, so everything was good.

She began walking back to the door when suddenly she was jerked against someone. What was with her and people jerking her around?

"I saw you in here earlier. Where are your friends? Did they leave you alone? That wasn't very nice of them."

Rebecca could tell the man was drunk; the whiskey smell was all over him. And it didn't make his grabbing her right, but she understood that most of the time only loose women came to the bars in this time period.

"They're waiting for me outside. And one of them will not be happy if you don't let me go." Damon was probably listening in as she was speaking. "Now, if you don't mind . . ."

She easily slipped away and made it through the door. She didn't automatically see Stefan or Damon, but she could still sense them so she knew they were close. Besides, Damon would not have left her alone in a neighborhood this sketchy. Rebecca followed her senses to a nearby inn where Damon was compelling the keeper to allow the woman to stay for the night.

When she reached him she touched his arm and smiled when it seemed he relaxed immediately. It was like his body had been tightly coiled, but now that she was there he'd pressed some kind of release button. Rebecca loved being able to do that for him. And she could relate. She felt better when he was around too. She felt even better when Stefan wasn't around. There was just something about him that set her on edge - it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that he was killing everyone. He would've killed someone tonight if they hadn't stopped him.

"You ready to go home?" Rebecca asked after the girl had been set up for the night. It was funny how quickly she'd correlated home with Damon. She hoped that future Damon would at least let her be a part of his life - unlife? - because she didn't know if she'd be able to survive not being able to talk to him or be around him.  
\----------  
They slept in the same bed, as was their routine now. Rebecca, however, wasn't there when Damon woke up the next morning. Rebecca wasn't anywhere.

He made sure Stefan hadn't done anything to her, though he was sure he would've heard Stefan come in their room, so . . .

She was gone like she'd warned him she would be one day. And one day had come too soon.


	13. Companion Piece to Chapters Eight and Nine

Mystic Falls 2009

Damon was still remembering things that shouldn't have been and that meant that Stefan was too. They hadn't talked about it because that wasn't something they did. Not for a long time.

Not everything had changed from 1864. Katherine had compelled him to believe he'd loved her - it was kind of hard to remember the original story now; it was all mixed up - so he'd still done things for her he would've done if he had really loved her.

The night Katherine had been captured he'd gone to Emily and promised to do anything if she would just protect Katherine somehow. She had. So Damon had made a deal with her and he'd kept watch over her family, had made sure her lineage survived.

He'd used Rebecca's feelings against her; he'd known she would help him no matter what and he'd also known she had advantages he hadn't back then. She'd been stronger than him. And she must've gone against her very nature to help a bunch of vampires - or even just one vampire. He knew how hard it was trying to fight one's nature but he hadn't thought about it back then.

He and Stefan had still been shot, and Rebecca had stayed with him until . . . Well, until he had completely gone away. She'd risked her life so he wouldn't die alone. She'd been there so he wouldn't wake up alone either. And when he had woken up he hadn't remembered the compulsion at first so he'd been devastated about Katherine being captured.

Rebecca had told him about not being able to stay there with him - now that he'd died she was being completely honest. Damon guessed she thought that since he was in transition that he'd believe anything. But he'd believed her. Damon didn't know if Rebecca ever would've said anything at all if Emily hadn't pressed her to. Rebecca had been quite adamant about him not basing his decision on her. She'd known he'd changed before, obviously, because she'd met him in her time period but she was being selfless. She didn't want him to have to wait for her.

But she'd promised to be waiting for him. And she wasn't here to be waiting for him.

Damon wondered what would happen when she got back.  
\----------  
Things had played out the same. Stefan had still forced him to turn and Damon still hated him for it. Damon hated him even more for drinking from Rebecca and for bringing her to him to do the same. Since Rebecca had changed history completely Damon's mindset had also been changed. He couldn't love Katherine anymore knowing that it hadn't been real. What he had had with Rebecca had been real.

And he'd almost killed her because of Stefan. It had been right then that Damon had made the decision to never be weaker than Stefan again. In general he didn't like being weaker than anybody, and the weaknesses he did have weren't out there for everybody to see and exploit.

So Damon hadn't attacked Stefan. He'd wanted to when he'd first remembered what Stefan had done but he really didn't want Stefan to know he cared about Rebecca at all. Because Stefan would use it against him if Rebecca got back.

And when was she coming back anyway? He was waiting. And impatient.

And why was his life always complicated?  
\----------  
Damon could remember Rebecca asking him to get rid of any evidence that she'd been there when she came back. He would have, he knew, because he'd been that committed to her. Even if he hadn't been, she'd done so much for him he would've considered it returning the favor.

Homicidal vampire or not, he did have a certain sense of honor. It was his own code and it was different for everybody he knew, but still . . . He did believe in paying debts back and such.

She'd played for him and sang. He still wondered if she'd picked that song on purpose - only for a different purpose now. Certain of the lines had described them to a T. One in particular had reminded him of when she'd opened herself up to him only to end up with him holding her and helping her feel better.

One thing she'd done, looking back, kind of but not really made him want to gag. She'd called him my sweet Damon.

He was not sweet, not anymore. He was mean; he liked it.

He and Rebecca had had a moment - one of many - but Stefan had ruined it, as Stefan usually did. And when Damon remembered what had happened he'd had to force himself not to throw things. It was only because nothing had really happened. If Rebecca had gotten hurt again, someone else would've gotten hurt too.

Rebecca had told him she'd loved him again. She didn't want there to be any room for doubt later; he didn't know what that meant for him but . . . Maybe it was a hint that she really would want to try with him when she got back.

Did he want that? The obvious answer was yes. Since she had totally messed up the past - or fixed it, depending on how one looked at it - he did want her there with him. But . . . The less obvious answer was . . . What if that just opened up so many things he'd been keeping inside forever? To be with Rebecca he'd have to . . . He'd have to . . . He didn't even know. But he couldn't treat her as a snack or a one night stand. She didn't deserve that and she wouldn't put up with it, he didn't think. He was sure she had more self-respect than that.

He'd have to feel and that terrified him in a way that he didn't like. He didn't like being weak or vulnerable for anyone; he didn't like giving people the chance to either throw it back in his face or laugh at him or something else equally as negative.

Damon found it amusing that a human had tried to teach a vampire how to feed; it was even more amusing that she'd helped a lot. She'd given him great advice about the not killing people that other people would miss.

She was a terrible slayer; she condoned people getting eaten.

She, however, did not condone killing sprees. Damon had been amused when he remembered that Rebecca had stabbed Stefan; he was sure if Rebecca had been able to stay with them Stefan would've learned control eventually and he wouldn't have had to resort to eating fluffy bunny rabbits.

Things would change, Damon was sure. The first time around Katherine had been the one to show him how to feed and it hadn't been pretty. She'd ravaged two people. Not that he hadn't ravaged in his time, but that had been when he'd been angry or completely starving.

But Rebecca had told him of another way, a different way. Where the victim didn't have to die - that was his fault. She'd connected Vicki Donovan with him apparently.

The morning after the tavern incident . . . Rebecca disappeared. Damon had stocked up on bourbon; he knew the memories without her were going to be harder than the ones with her even if he had originally thought she was going to mess everything up.

It didn't matter . . . She was going to come back now. He could . . . Decide what to do now. Or just go at it impulsively like he was known for.

One thing was for sure, he was not going to be the one to track her down. He was going to let her come to him.


	14. Chapter Ten

"You shouldn't read those out loud. They don't always work, but they can be volatile when they do."

Whoa, déjà vu, Rebecca thought. And, wow, she was back in her time period, back in her own world. Without Damon, or without her Damon, anyway. She was . . . back where she started?

Had none of what had happened actually taken place? Had she imagined it all? She remembered saying the spell out loud - and that everything else had happened because of it - but now she was back in Sheila's house with the book in her hands; she quickly dropped it.

Had no time passed at all? She didn't even have the dress she'd been wearing the night before. Or whatever.

"Rebecca, are you alright, dear?"

"Um . . ." She patted the pockets of her jeans. She had her cell phone even though she hadn't had it with her during the time she'd spent in the past; she'd hidden it well.

"Something happened? With the spell you read?"

"I . . . think. But . . . Now I'm back where I started."

"It was a time traveling spell. Time sort of works differently with those."

"Yeah . . . Obviously. I, uh . . ."

Wow, her first instinct was to run to Damon, but then she thought she was not going to seek Damon out. It had been 145 years for him; things could've changed for him. He could have found someone else, so if he wanted to see her he'd have to come to her.

And Rebecca wanted to see Chelsea and Elena and Bonnie and her dad, and God, she hoped she'd be able to hold it together and not freak out because no one would understand what was wrong with her. And she couldn't just tell someone what had happened.

"How did I do that spell?" Rebecca wondered. "I'm not a witch."

"No, but you do have a lot of power, a lot of strength, as the slayer."

"Right. Well, I'm never reading another spell out loud."

Grams smiled knowingly. "Glad you learned your lesson."

Lesson? Not to be careless with magic, yes, but she'd met someone she loved very much and even though she'd missed everyone back here, she'd figured she couldn't have everything. And she knew who she wanted; now it was just a case of whether or not future Damon wanted her. In a nice non-fatal way.

In the back of her mind she hoped Damon was there for her, not just to play with her. She didn't want to be played with.  
\----------  
Damon Salvatore was in a weird mood, which usually didn't bode well for the humans around him. But there was one major difference in him now: Rebecca Stone. The girl who he'd met in 1864 and had become very attached to; a'right, the girl he'd totally fallen for. She had told him that she'd be waiting so of course he'd tried to be better for her even though she hadn't been with him at the time.

Sure, when she'd disappeared he'd gotten a little dangerous - he'd been angry and shock, gasp, scared. He hadn't wanted to be alone. But then he'd realized he needed to be someone Rebecca would deserve, someone she could still love. Rebecca couldn't love a soulless monster, it just wasn't in her.

Yet now that the time had come . . . Part of him didn't want to get close to her again; it would open up too many things he'd closed off a long time ago. The other part of him just wanted her any way he could have her. Wanted her because he remembered how good she'd been with him, how good she'd been to him. Not a lot of people had been that nice to him even before he'd become a vampire and he remembered Rebecca for the simple fact that she had treated him better than anyone else had. Ever.

Damon had still done things he'd prefer she never know about all in the name of surviving so he could get back to her. He'd killed people even though he remembered not wanting to at first. In the beginning he'd sworn he wouldn't, but he had 145 years to account for.

Damon wasn't a monster but he was a vampire. He fed from humans but he didn't kill all of them. He still had a snapping point, though, and that - that - was what got him into trouble.

In Damon's new all-Rebecca-all-the-time world, he'd never killed for the fun of it. He'd only killed when he'd had no other choice. The path of Rebecca wasn't an easy one. He'd killed people and if he left himself, he could feel and see every one of them. The first time he'd realized he'd racked up a body count he'd cried - the guilt hadn't left him and then . . . Then he'd shut his feelings out. It was better than brooding about it all the time.

Speaking of brooding, that was probably what St. Stefan was doing. Oh, yes, he still hated his brother with a fiery passion; that hadn't changed at all. Stefan had betrayed him, fed off the girl he loved, and then forced him to feed from the girl he loved.

He didn't even bother to tell himself not to think about her blood. Every time he'd fed in the last 145 years he'd thought about her blood and how much better it was than everyone else's. He honestly didn't know if that was because he loved her or because she loved him or because she was a slayer. The Slayer. He'd learned over the years that there was only one in the world at any given time, except for a few anomalies.

Damon wasn't sure if Rebecca knew exactly what it was she was capable of. As a slayer . . . She had the same killer instincts as a vampire; he wasn't sure why, he just knew it was true. But, as a human, her conscience kept her from letting those instincts take over. She would be fast and strong; not as fast as him because humans weren't meant to move that fast, but as strong as some of the oldest vampires out there. When she used her strength right. She would have to train to be able to center herself. If she'd trained before, Stefan never would've been able to sneak up on her. Not without getting staked in the process.  
\----------  
Rebecca had never been a yay-school girl, but she had to admit her first day back she felt as giddy as Caroline acted sometimes. She acted drunk, is what Rebecca thought as she walked down the school hallway with Elena and Bonnie.

Elena, beautiful, sweet Elena. Rebecca had missed her a lot, mostly because she'd seen Katherine everyday. Katherine, who had looked exactly like Elena. Though now Rebecca could see Elena was prettier. It was all in the eyes. Katherine's eyes had been cold and hard as stone; Elena's eyes were soft and compassionate.

Bonnie; enthusiastic and lively little Bonnie. She was someone Rebecca considered to be a best friend - you can have more than one - and she'd missed the concern Bonnie was able to show people.

Rebecca had given them both a bear hug - seriously, she'd had to remind herself not to squeeze too hard - and they'd both been concerned. Dramatic displays of affection usually weren't her thing, but she'd changed. She knew now that being able to show how much you truly care for someone was a good thing; in a twisted way, Damon had taught her that. The first time she'd let herself cry in front of him she'd learned it was okay to let people in, let them help, let them see.

It was hard that first day. Even though she was happy to be back it was difficult to remember what had happened before she'd left. To her it had been a couple of months; to her friends she'd never really been gone. She'd missed her friends when she'd been in 1864 but she'd been through a lot, so yes, she had problems remembering.

Elena and Stefan drama; she remembered that. Obviously Stefan had learned some control because Elena wasn't dead yet. Rebecca and Caroline had made up from Rebecca snapping at her. Bonnie had freaked about something concerning Stefan - three guesses as to what. Vicki had been playing games with Jeremy. Damon . . . Well, Damon had been playing games with her.

Speaking of Damon, future Damon hadn't contacted her yet. Was he even here? Was he still alive? She should've called him to see, but she didn't know if his number was even the same.

Rebecca had checked when she'd gotten home the night before and she'd found that Vicki had still been bitten, but it hadn't been as bad as Rebecca had remembered it to be. Vicki hadn't even had to go to the hospital. It looked like she'd fallen on a barbecue fork, Rebecca thought. Vicki had the almost too perfect memory of fighting an animal off before it had had the chance to get a good grip with its teeth.

"Look, I'm not saying don't date the guy," Bonnie said, drawing Rebecca out of her thoughts. "I'm just saying take it slow."

"You were the one who said to go for it," Elena said.

"Now I'm saying take it slow. You're single for the first time in your high school career. It's the perfect time for you to play the field."

"Oh, because I'm so that girl," Elena laughed. "Seriously, what are you not saying?"

"It's stupid." The way Bonnie said it sounded like the same 'it's stupid' Bonnie had given her about the Vampire book she'd given Rebecca. "I accidentally touched Stefan . . . And I got a really bad feeling."

"Is that it?" Elena asked, confused.

"It was bad-bad."

"Is this the whole witch-mojo thing again?"

Well, whatever it was, Rebecca was paying attention. Bonnie's feelings usually meant something. Something real.

"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."

"He's your boyfriend?" Rebecca asked. "When did that happen? Last time I saw you, you were walking away from him upset. Night of the comet, remember?"

"Right, well -" Elena smiled shyly "- I went to his house that night and we straightened things out. I realized that I was pushing him away because I was scared."

Rebecca almost laughed because Elena had every reason to be scared; she was going out with a vampire and she didn't know it. What if Stefan had been feeding from her and he'd been compelling her to forget? But, no, Elena didn't have any bite marks - though that didn't prove anything; Rebecca didn't have any bite marks and she'd been bitten. But other than that . . . Elena's color was normal and she didn't seem weak at all. Rebecca wouldn't have cared if Stefan was feeding from Elena as long as Elena didn't end up dead because of it. Killing Rebecca's friends was a no-no. Besides, Stefan was a vampire; vampires were supposed to feed from people.

"And I feel good," Elena said, smiling widely, openly for the first time in a long time. "It's been a hard year and I'm starting to feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that."

Rebecca saw Bonnie give in at that moment. Both Bonnie and Rebecca wanted Elena to be happy and if Stefan was what made her happy, then . . .

But . . . "I'm with Bonnie. Be careful, that's all we're saying. Get to know him first."

Speaking of him, Rebecca felt Stefan coming up to them from the side. She tensed slightly - reflex - just in case. She relaxed when she saw he seemed to have control of his bloodlust.

"Morning, Elena. Bonnie, Rebecca." His voice seemed normal, but his eyes were guarded; not that that was any different from any other time she'd seen him in this time period.

"Hi," Rebecca said out of politeness. Why should she be polite to him, though?

Bonnie then made a hasty exit and Rebecca wanted to do the same, but she needed to talk to Stefan. She couldn't do it with Elena around, however, so she'd have to wait.

"Um . . . I'm gonna head to class. Bye, guys." Then she took off, ducking her head and saying very low, "Stefan, I need to talk to you after school. Find me or I'll find you."

She knew he'd be able to hear her - vampire hearing and all that. Then she went to English.  
\----------  
The day went by fast. She gave Jeremy a hug when she saw him; that wasn't too weird, they used to hug all the time. Matt didn't mind a hug either. Caroline, though, was surprised. Rebecca had made it clear more than once that, for the most part, she couldn't stand the girl.

But, hey, anybody was better than Katherine. After her Rebecca had come to appreciate Caroline.

During history Rebecca tuned Mr. Tanner out like she normally did. Rebecca almost despised Tanner for liking to humiliate his students and she was given a happy when he would ask someone a question and they actually got it right. When he would ask her something she would either BS her way out of the answer, to which Tanner would roll his eyes, or she would actually get it right and Tanner would look sad. He liked pointing out ignorance; Rebecca didn't know why.

After history, Rebecca walked with Elena and Stefan outside. Elena was going to cheerleading practice; Stefan was trying out for the football team. Rebecca hadn't seen it herself, but apparently Stefan had done an amazing throw with a football earlier in the day. After dropping Elena off with the rest of the cheerleaders Stefan and Rebecca went on to the bleachers near the football field.

"I'm sure you understand why I don't wanna be alone with you," Rebecca said softly. She needed him to know she wasn't mad at him, just a little nervous to be near him. "And we can talk without anyone else hearing here."

"Rebecca, I'm sorry. I know it was 145 year ago, but I'm sorry. Though it was just a few days ago for you, wasn't it?"

Rebecca nodded. She accepted his apology right away because he seemed sincere enough. He'd just been turned, he'd had no control. That wasn't what she wanted to talk to him about, though.

"How much did I change? I looked a few weeks back and the people who had died . . . They're not dead now. So I rewrote history a little."

Stefan looked around and then sighed. She figured it was because he knew he may as well be honest.

"The original memories are fading. Pretty soon I won't be able to remember them at all. But Damon's not as bad as he was the first time around. He's still torturing me, but I know he has a reason for that. He doesn't kill needlessly, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous. He's rash and impulsive; he can snap in an instant. He chooses to feed from humans; I don't anymore."

"Animal blood," Rebecca muttered. "What, did you take a look in the mirror and not like what you saw?"

"Something like that." Stefan didn't seem offended. There was no way to pretty up what he'd been. "It makes me weaker than Damon, but I feel more human now. Not as out of control."

"Good." That answered her feeding-from-Elena question. Next order of business . . . "Elena looks like Katherine. And you're with her because . . ."

"Elena is not Katherine. Elena is everything Katherine wasn't. The resemblance drew me in; I wanted to make sure she wasn't her. But after I met her I didn't want a way to connect her to Katherine."

"Hm . . ."

Rebecca shook her head, not really knowing if she should believe him. He seemed sincere enough, of course, but . . . A lot of people could lie.

"Are you gonna tell Elena who you are? She deserves to know, Stefan."

"Are you going to tell her who you are?"

"Soon. I'm not supposed to, but I can't keep lying to her and Bonnie. If I do, I'm gonna lose their friendship and I don't want that." She'd pretty much said everything she wanted to say so she stood up. "Look, whether you tell her what you are or not, she needs to know about Katherine. Elena's big on trust and honesty. If you keep lying to her, she will end up hating you."

Rebecca hated being pushy, she truly did, but she was an honest person. She didn't like deceiving people even when someone deserved it. Not that Stefan did, but Elena definitely didn't. If Elena began to love Stefan without knowing who it was she was getting to know it would - one - annoy her and - two - terrify her. Elena believed in the truth, too, and so far all Stefan had done was lie to her. Plus, Elena was practical; she wouldn't believe in vampires unless she saw one for herself.

Before Rebecca walked away she smiled softly and said, not unkindly, "Tanner hates you; good luck making the team."  
\----------  
Rebecca walked to Diana's house because she knew she was supposed to train that day. After everything that had happened with the spell she wanted a few days of peace, though it seemed she wasn't going to have any. She'd given up on normality - Vampire Slayer business and all that - but peace; she had hoped she could have that at least. A few hours a day or every other day. Once a week, maybe?

And my God, what is that incessant cawing, she thought angrily, looking around.

There was a crow - or was it a raven? - that was following her. That wasn't weird or anything. And if it didn't stop the annoying noise, she was going to throw something at it.

The body of feathers was so black the sun made it look like the crow had rainbows sparkling off of it. As soon as Rebecca looked at the bird it stopped cawing, like it had only wanted her attention. Weird animal. And then there was the distinct impression that she was being followed by something other than her new animal friend.

It made her speed up so she could get inside the safety of Diana's house. Rebecca wasn't scared exactly, but she did feel uneasy and she wanted that feeling to go away. So when she got to Diana's she rushed in and Diana looked at her, somewhat surprised.

"What's wrong?" Diana's steady but distant voice asked.

"Nothing. Um . . . I just feel weird. For some reason. It's nothing." Rebecca shook her head and almost laughed at herself. She shouldn't have freaked out. "Anyway, I was wondering . . . Instead of training today, can I read through some of your books?"

Diana had the best occult collection on the east coast. Rebecca wanted the books on vampires. She wanted to know what the Salvatore brothers had been up to for the last 145 years. She'd much rather have them tell her themselves, but she didn't really feel like asking that question.

"Why? Do you think something's going to happen?" Diana was referring to the fact that Slayers had prophetic dreams sometimes.

"No, I just . . . I think I should be prepared. In case, you know?"

Diana smiled but she also eyed Rebecca suspiciously.

"Well, okay. I can lend you my Watcher's journals. They date back to the early 1700s."

"Watcher's journals?"

"Yes. Watcher's keep journals, records of their charges."

"You keep a journal about me?" That couldn't be safe, right? Someone could find it, read it, lock her away.

"Yes, though it's more a progress report than anything else. You are doing . . . fairly well."

Fairly well? Well . . . That meant she was doing great in Diana-speak.

"Oh. Um . . . Nobody can get to that, right?"

"Right, they're very well protected."

"Well, good."

So with that Rebecca asked for the first three books that Diana had said she could borrow.  
\----------  
On the way home from Diana's Rebecca got a call from Elena. She knew it must've been important because Elena usually liked texting instead of talking.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Hey." Elena's voice was a little cautious. "What're you doing tonight?"

"Depends, why?"

"I want you to come over tonight. Dinner. You, me, Bonnie and Stefan." Elena must've felt Rebecca's hesitation because she hurriedly continued. "Please? You and Bonnie need to give Stefan a chance. Plus, I need someone who knows how to cook because you know I'm hopeless in the kitchen."

Rebecca sighed, already beginning to give in. "Well, why can't I cook and then leave?"

"Because there would be no point for you to leave before he gets here. Why don't you like him, anyway?"

Rebecca was quiet for a second. What could she say that wasn't an outright lie? She couldn't just say, Oh, ya know, he and his brother were turning into vampires and Stefan fed from me and forced Damon to feed from me, which effectively ruined his life.

That wouldn't go over well.

"Um . . . I don't not like him. I'm just careful. You know that."

"Yeah, you're careful enough for everybody, but please come."

Rebecca rolled her eyes; she was such a pushover. "When do you want me there?"

"Now-ish?"

"Okay, give me, like, ten minutes, okay?"

"Kay. See ya."

They hung up and Rebecca rolled her eyes again. She didn't really want to have dinner with the guy that had attacked her in 1864, but Elena was telling the truth - she was hopeless in the kitchen. In fact, out of everyone Rebecca knew, Elena was the one that was most likely to burn a house down if she tried to cook.

Rebecca knew how to cook because her mom had taught her. Her dad had always been at work and her mom was easily bored, hence cooking lessons.

When she got to Elena's she knocked even though Elena thought of Rebecca as a sister and had told her a bunch of times she didn't need to knock, ever. Elena was still surprised when Rebecca hugged her and Rebecca knew Elena would ask her about that sometime soon and she also knew she wouldn't know what to say.

"Okay. One, when does Bonnie get here? Two, what am I fixing?"

"Lasagna, garlic bread. I can do a salad."

"And Bonnie?"

"No, Bonnie's not for dinner."

A smile broke across Rebecca's face, but she got it under control pretty quickly. "That's so not funny." Especially since a vampire was going to be there. "When's she coming?"

"Any minute now."

"Kay. Well, I'll get started in the kitchen and then we can hang. When's dinner supposed to be done?"

"Eight-ish?"

"Is Jenna gonna be here? Or Jeremy?"

"Jenna has class tonight; Jeremy's at the Grill. Wouldn't hurt to leave them some, though."

"Got it."

In the kitchen Rebecca set Elena to work. Rebecca made the sauce for the lasagna while Elena made a garlic-butter spread for the bread. Rebecca supervised the whole time.

Elena began cutting vegetables for a salad and Rebecca helped her make a vinegar dressing for it. Rebecca was going to teach her something about cooking tonight even if it didn't involve actual cooking.

When Bonnie arrived Elena put on some music and Bonnie began helping too. She made Hershey Syrup brownies. Except for the slight uncomfortableness about dinner, Bonnie was okay and things were fun.

"So . . . How did cheerleading go today?" Rebecca asked Elena.

"Ugh, don't get me started. It sucked. I kept messing up."

"You'll get it," Bonnie said reassuringly. "I'll work with you."

Bonnie began pouring the brownie mix into a baking pan and Rebecca took the bowl from Bonnie so she could scoop some leftover mix from the bowl onto her finger.

"Come on, you know you guys want to," she teased.

So Bonnie and Elena joined her even though they knew it would ruin their appetites. Besides, girls do not pig out on chocolate alone - there had to be a law about that somewhere, Rebecca was sure.

They were interrupted by the doorbell. It was 7:30, so Stefan was probably there. But when Elena went to let him in, it was Damon, not Stefan. Damon and . . . Caroline? Caroline, who had a pie in her hands.

"I heard you were doing dinner so we brought desert," Caroline enthused.

"Hope you don't mind."

There was Damon with his all black outfit, black hair, beautiful blue eyes, pretending to be . . . Well, whatever it was he wanted to be at the moment. The picture of perfection in Rebecca's opinion - the only thing wrong with this scene was Caroline. What was he doing with her?

Rebecca suddenly felt really . . . bad. It hurt. She hadn't thought it would hurt so much if this Damon didn't want her, but it did. It made her feel a little sick . . . And angry. Jealous was probably the better word.

Without waiting to see if Elena was going to invite him in, Rebecca went back into the kitchen. Bonnie followed her and Rebecca could feel the sympathy coming off of her in waves.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know they were coming. He dropped her off at practice today. I, um . . . I thought you knew."

Rebecca shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Are you gonna be okay? We haven't even started dinner yet."

"Yes, I'll be fine. He's just a guy, Bonnie."  
\----------  
Stefan arrived exactly at eight and dinner had already been set up. Elena had gotten out the company plates and glasses. They all had soda of some kind.

Rebecca usually tried to cover all her bases, so she'd made more than enough for two extra people. They were all at the table now, starting their salads and not talking. Damon sat across from Rebecca; Elena sat across from Bonnie; Stefan sat at one end, Caroline at the other. To say things were awkward was an understatement.

Stefan had almost had a stroke when he'd realized Damon was there and had been invited in. Damon had been amused; so had Rebecca been if she was being completely honest with herself. But now, now all Rebecca could hear was the clinking of silverware and it was driving her crazy. And for some reason she had the inappropriate need to laugh at the uncomfortable tension in the room. So she did - the sugar from the chocolate, maybe? - and all eyes turned to her but she couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Damon asked, arching a brow.

That just made her laugh harder, to the point where she was doubling over. She was vaguely aware of Damon answering his own question. "She's gone out of her mind."

"Becca! What are you laughing at?" Elena's voice was laced with amusement now. "Care to let us into your head?"

Well, Elena, I'm sitting here with you who are a spitting image of a raging bitch I met when I traveled back to 1864. Said bitch was a vampire. Stefan and Damon are vampires, too. Then there's Bonnie, who is a witch but doesn't really know it, and she's probably freaking out because she has no idea what's happening to her. Hm . . . What else? Oh yeah, I met Bonnie's great-great-great-great something or other. Uh, and your boyfriend tried to kill me once and . . . Yeah, that's why I didn't want to be here. Oh, and yeah, also . . . I'm a vampire slayer and -

Rebecca could barely breathe for laughing so hard. But her laugh was infectious. Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, and even Stefan were laughing now. Damon, however, wasn't. He was just staring at them like they'd all gone nuts.

"What is wrong with you people?" he muttered. "Are you allergic to something in the food?"

"No, I . . ." Rebecca panted and spoke between breaths. "I was just thinking how . . . ridiculous this is. Two of us don't even want to be here, but we are and we can't even talk to each other. The whole point of this dinner - which we spent two hours on, by the way - was to get to know Stefan and all that. So . . . Now that I've made a complete idiot out of myself and removed the tension by doing so, let's get down to what we're supposed to be doing. Please."

She realized her rant was bordering on Caroline-esque, but her points were all valid.

"So . . . Did Tanner let you on the team?" Rebecca asked Stefan, catching her breath and calming down. She had helped fix this dinner and she was going to enjoy it.

"Yes, but he wasn't too happy about it at first."

Rebecca nodded. "I told you this afternoon he hated you. He hates everybody." She wasn't being mean, just honest. "Now, come on, people. I can't have a conversation by myself; you must contribute." She made an innocent, sheepish expression and said, "Please?" again.

"Bonnie, why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena said, coming to the rescue.

"Um, divorced. No mom, live with my dad." It was like pulling teeth.

"No, about the witches," Elena mumbled, and Stefan's head turned toward her. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie countered.

"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan said. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem."

"Really? Salem witches? I'd say that's pretty cool."

"Really? Why?" Bonnie seemed embarrassed by the subject; Rebecca felt sorry for her - she didn't like to be the center of attention either.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity."

And just like that Bonnie had been won over.

Ha! Rebecca thought and took a bite of her salad. Mission accomplished, she could now eat the meal happily. Though she vaguely wondered if they'd be so accepting if they knew what Stefan and Damon were.  
\----------  
After dinner Rebecca helped Elena transfer the leftovers into containers and she stayed in the kitchen when Elena washed the dishes. Elena was fair; Rebecca had cooked so she wasn't supposed to help clean. Then she got bored. Plus, she didn't want to go in the living room because Damon was there, with Caroline.

"Give me a dish rag," she said, going to stand by Elena. "I'll wash, you can dry."

Elena smiled softly but did as Rebecca asked even though there was a perfectly serviceable dish washer not even a foot away.

"Thank you for what you did earlier. The whole laughing thing."

"I didn't mean to do that. I literally couldn't help it."

"Well, intentional or not, it worked. Thank you. Lunatic."

"Ugh -" Rebecca splashed some of the dish water at Elena, who shrieked a little "- I am not a lunatic." Though she herself might be in love with one; she wasn't too clear on that yet.

Rebecca heard Caroline's voice coming from the living room and almost cringed. "I cannot believe Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething."

Tyler Lockwood was always seething, always angry about something.

"But good for you - go for it."

Damon then said something but Rebecca didn't have supersonic hearing so she couldn't exactly make out what he was saying.

"We could socialize if you want," Elena said. She must've caught Rebecca looking toward the living room longingly.

"No, uh, I can't stay much longer. I have these books I need to start on. I got 'em from a friend and I'm not sure when she'll want them back."

"Oh, well, thanks for cooking. Everything turned out great."

"You're welcome. And of course it did, because I did it."

Elena shook her head fondly and they went back to work.  
\----------  
After the dishes were done Rebecca got her things together and said bye to everyone - even Damon and Caroline, though she would've rather ignored them altogether.

"Do you need a ride?" Bonnie offered.

"No thanks. I'm good. Uh, I'll walk it."

"You sure? I'll probably leave soon."

"I need the air," Rebecca said. "Thanks anyway, though."

As Rebecca walked out the door Caroline followed her and Rebecca had to fight the urge to run away, but she stopped at the end of the yard and let Caroline catch up.

"Look, I didn't know you liked him, okay?"

"Yes, you did, Caroline." Rebecca had a very vivid memory of telling her how she liked Damon. "You just didn't care." Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "You know what? It doesn't even matter. Just go back inside. I've really gotta go."

Part of it was because she needed to get started on the journals Diana had given her; the other part was because she was supposed to take a quick stroll through town every night just in case. She wondered if she was even ready for patrolling. She hadn't been training that long and she wasn't super-confident in her ability to take on more than one vampire at a time - or any vampire. That one from 1864 had only been easy because she'd taken him by surprise.

Rebecca watched Caroline go back in and she took off. She knew that she wouldn't exactly have to stick to the shadows; it wasn't like in the movies. Real vampires would go to a place with a lot of victim choices to pick from.

Rebecca didn't really feel like going to a crowded place, not now. She wasn't in the best of moods. Besides, the vampires could feel her just like she could feel them. They could come find her. She wasn't going to find some random vampire just so she could stake them. What if said vampire wasn't hurting anyone? She didn't want to hurt anyone innocent, no matter what species they were.

She wasn't a good Slayer, she didn't think, because she couldn't bring herself to be motivated to do her job. Sure, if she saw a vampire killing someone she'd help out and get rid of said vampire, but she didn't feel like actively seeking them out.

Besides, aside from Damon and Stefan she hadn't even felt anymore vampires and she hadn't heard of any other attacks. So if there were other vampires in town, they weren't killing . . . Unless they were doing like Katherine had done and were integrating into the town so no one would suspect vampire.

It was as she was thinking about there not being any other vampires that she got ambushed by three of them. They were big and they towered over her; they were big enough to be professional football players.

Rebecca placed her book bag in front of her chest protectively; in all reality she was reaching into the secret compartment to get a stake - she kept one with her at all times.

All three of the vampires looked human at the moment, but she noticed the look in their eyes; they were hungry. They had her cornered on three sides and they were trying to get her to go down a back alley. Well, she wasn't that stupid. She was not going to trap herself.

"You know, this isn't exactly a good time for me; can we do this later?"

She now had the stake in her hand, though the three couldn't see it. They launched themselves at Rebecca and she could tell they had worked together before. Rebecca hit the one on the right with her bag, which had five books in it. She knew it would only distract the vampire but it was worth it.

The one in front of her began to swing forward with his arm so Rebecca ducked to the side and reached out with her hand to sweep the vampire's hand away. She spun around to drive her right fist against the vampire's head. She heard the sound of bones cracking - the vampire's skull? - and she looked at her still clenched fist in amazement. Had she really done that?

The one she'd just hit stumbled to the ground, temporarily paralyzed - with pain? Or surprise? Did these guys not know who she was? Had they never come across a Slayer before?

The third vampire closed in on Rebecca, swinging his arm. She blocked the swing with her forearm - which she learned kind of hurt - then twisted her hips and drove her hand into the vampire's throat.

Hey, I'm actually pretty good at this, she thought, congratulating herself.

The vampire froze as she crushed his larynx. He collapsed and gripped his throat. His face went all vampire - red eyes, veins, fangs. Dude was angry and obviously in a lot of pain. Rebecca had to fight the urge to say she was sorry. But, hey, they had attacked her first, and she had even given them the chance to leave.

The vampire that she'd hit with her book bag was attacking now and, because she was distracted, he was able to get a hit in. Pain shot through Rebecca's head.

She fell backward from the force of the blow and she realized she'd been hit by her own bag. She caught herself in time and kicked the vampire's legs out from under him. In the next two seconds she kicked the vampire in the face - she was angry that she'd gotten knocked down. Blood gushed from the guy's nose; she hadn't known vampires bled so easily.

Her head still hurt and she had her own blood in her mouth; it was trailing down the side, she could feel it. She wiped it away and a trail of crimson came away onto her hand. She knew that now that she was bleeding the vampires would be more vicious. They would smell the blood now.

Before she could stake the one she'd just knocked down, the one she'd hit with her fist got back up - damn, they healed fast. He came at her fast, striking with more speed than she herself had. She blocked a lot of the blows, but all of them hurt; one of them almost broke her arm. She was getting tired. She grabbed his arm on the next strike and refused to let go. She drove her knee into the vampire's crotch.

It earned her a cry of pain. Sure, he was a vampire, but he was also a man, so he fell to the ground and Rebecca mercilessly launched another kick - she found she liked working with her legs. - at his mouth. She hoped she knocked a fang loose.

She staked this one in the heart and waited for him to mummify and then moved on to the one with the collapsed larynx. Then she took care of the one with the bloody nose.

"Great. Now I have three bodies I don't know what to do with."

Then there were three claps from behind her. She didn't have to look to know it was Damon. His feeling was completely different from other vampires - maybe because he'd been close to her once? He threw her on an emotional level, not a physical one.

"Working out some personal issues?" he asked, gesturing to the now dead vampires.

"Were you following me?" Rebecca asked, ignoring his question.

"Yes," he said simply. "I was going to lend a hand, but I noticed you had it covered. I guess."

"Mm-hm." Rebecca bit her lip and noticed it still tasted like blood. She wiped it again. "Ow."

Damon, being a vampire, homed in on the blood, but he seemed to have control so Rebecca relaxed a little even though her body was still in hyper drive - adrenaline, she guessed. The air shifted around her as he appeared right in front of her.

He was . . . examining her wounds? What was it to him? He had obviously moved onto Caroline now. If she sounded bitter, it was because she was.

"I'm okay," she said automatically. "I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to explain all this to my dad, but . . . I'm fine."

"Your arm is gonna swell," he said. "And you need help getting rid of these guys. Nice job, by the way."

"Hm."

Nice job? Was he being serious? Or sarcastic? It was hard to tell with him sometimes. And he was checking out her arm? Really? God, she didn't want to have to question him all the time, but 145 years had passed for him, so obviously he would've changed. But . . . How much?

"I didn't know I could do it. Glad I wound up on the winning side." She paused, remembering what he'd said about the vampires she'd killed. "Were you offering to help?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I have to get home so we have to hurry."

"I've got this. You can go."

He was dismissing her? Right . . . Well . . . Whatever.

"What was that with Caroline?" Because she had to know. "I mean . . . were you trying to hurt me? Because if that was your plan, congratulations. It worked."

Damon's blue eyes looked electric for a second; they flashed with anger. "If I wanted to hurt you, I have more direct ways to do it."

Rebecca looked away; she knew he was right. "Then what was that? Do you . . . like her?"

Damon almost scoffed - so that was a no - then his eyes zeroed in on her and he smirked. "You're jealous."

Rebecca didn't answer; she just glared.

"You are." He drew out the word are to make more than one syllable and he sounded amused and a little smug and she kind of wanted to hit him.

"Fine," she admitted. "Yes, okay. Rebecca gets jealous. Jealous because the guy she likes is with another girl." She picked up her bag; she realized they needed to get going in case somebody happened by. "Yeah, jealous. I don't know what I was thinking. Good-bye, Damon."

"If you wait for me to get these guys in the trunk, I'll drive you home."

"I'd rather walk."

"Don't be stupid. You couldn't go up against a flea right now. It's not safe for you to walk home alone."

She was just about to say no again but the pain in her head and arm reminded her that he was telling the truth.

"Fine," she said unhappily.

"Fine." He grabbed the first guy and threw him over his shoulder. "Go grab my car, would you? It's parked down the street, keys are in the ignition."

"Yeah, yeah."  
\----------  
She found his Camaro pretty quickly and drove it to the alley where he loaded the bodies into the trunk; she didn't know how they fit, but they did.

Once Damon was in the driver's seat Rebecca sighed. "Were you . . . checking up on me?"

Damon stared straight ahead, not answering.

"Damon?"

"That's why I was following you, yes." Damon sighed and looked at her briefly before turning back to the window. "I didn't know you were going to be there, okay?"

This time she was the one who didn't speak. She didn't want to hear any excuses; it didn't make it okay. And if he didn't like Caroline, what was he doing with her?

Then, duh . . . Vampire!

"You're feeding from her," she said, no judgment in her voice. Actually, there was a little relief there. "She's a . . . snack food?"

Rebecca couldn't stop the laugh from escaping her mouth. Boy-crazy Caroline - it was finally coming back to bite her on the ass. Though, hopefully it wasn't literally on the ass.

"So sad that you sound happy about that." Damon smirked. "Elena was right, though. You are a lunatic."

"Says the vampire," Rebecca muttered. "She really doesn't mean anything to you? Other than a meal?"

"She means nothing to me. She doesn't even know what I am. She doesn't remember the fangs or anything about that. She thinks I'm her boyfriend. A fact that will change, if you want it to."

"I do. You deserve better than a blond bimbo." Rebecca blushed fiercely at her name-calling. "And I'd appreciate it very much if she never found out I called her that."

"Well, then maybe you should be nicer to me." His patented grin fell into place and she rolled her eyes.

"I was being nice to you. That was me being nice when I'm in a bad mood."

"That little show of violence was you being nice?" Damon almost smiled. "I'd hate to see what would happen if you weren't being nice."

"Oh, I wasn't being nice to them. I was, as you said, working out my personal issues. It helped a little, which is scary. Violence isn't the way to solve things."

"But it's effective. You just said you feel a little better - well, aside from the new pain anyway. Which I can get rid of, if you want."

Rebecca realized Damon was being helpful because he didn't want to apologize. She let it go easily while also vaguely wondering when he'd last apologized to anyone.  
\----------  
When he pulled up to her house he cut the headlights off as he parked in the driveway.

"Are they awake?"

"Yes, but it sounds like they're in bed."

"Okay. Go to my bedroom window and I'll let you in. I don't wanna risk them seeing you, so be quiet." She wondered if she should say please. She didn't want him to think she was trying to boss him around.

"I'm gonna move the car first," he said and she nodded.

Once inside, Rebecca went straight to her room and opened the window. Chelsea was asleep in her crib and she hoped the baby stayed asleep. She didn't need Chelsea crying because there was a strange man in the bedroom.

Damon appeared at her window and she invited him in, breaking the weird no-invitation barrier. What was that about anyway? Maybe it was proof of the phrase that evil couldn't get in unless one invited it in.

Damon climbed gracefully through the window and went to sit on her bed. Rebecca realized he could now come into her house whenever he wanted and she hoped she hadn't made a mistake by letting him in. She was still on the fence with this Damon; she could never really tell what he was thinking or what he was up to.

She sat beside him, her heart trip-hopping all over the place, and moved her hair over her left shoulder. She shouldn't be okay with exchanging blood; humans weren't supposed to be okay with a lot of things Rebecca was okay with. Damon munching on Caroline; Rebecca getting ready to let him munch on her; her getting ready to drink his blood. Granted that last one was because she couldn't explain her injuries to her dad, but she shouldn't be okay with it.

The only thing she had a problem with was the violence. She was killing people - well, vampires, but still . . . And she'd found out tonight that she was good at it. She'd even enjoyed it a little. That couldn't be right. She was nice and sweet; she couldn't like killing things. Shouldn't was probably the better word. She shouldn't like killing things or beating things up.

She was shocked out of her thoughts by Damon grabbing her arm and, again, examining it only more thoroughly than before.

"It's not broken."

But the skin was discolored already. It looked like she'd been hit with a baseball bat. She felt just as bad. It hurt to move her fingers; it sent shards of pain through her arm.

She watched as Damon bit his wrist and held it up to her mouth. She hesitated for only a few seconds, but then she accepted what he was offering, knowing it would help. She knew if she'd refused him now he wouldn't offer again. She also knew she wouldn't patrol the next night just in case the blood hadn't passed through her system.  
\----------  
Damon watched as Rebecca drank from him. He watched and felt, felt something real for the first time in 145 years. Rebecca was here and safe, and after she got some blood in her system she'd be fine.

The newness of his emotions was enough to throw him if he let them. He hadn't expected everything to come rushing back, not so fast. But from the moment he'd seen her . . . he'd felt something inside him shift, change. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad. On the one hand he knew Rebecca deserved something better than an unfeeling jerk, which he knew he could act like when he wanted to. Then on the other hand, guilt and regret and all the other negative emotions weren't things he wanted to feel. The easier road was not to feel at all.

Her lips felt amazing on his skin and he appreciated the fact that she trusted him enough to let him do this for her. But of course she trusted him; she didn't know how much he'd changed.

He pulled away after her arm was better - that was the worst injury she had received. His eyes fell to her exposed neck; her pulse was thrumming along healthily and he was entranced because it was her pulse, her blood pumping through her body - along with his own now. But mostly hers. He'd wanted her blood since she'd been gone. He had a feeling it was probably addictive, her blood.

"Don't you have to bite?" she asked softly, wiping the crimson away from her lips, his blood from her lips.

So tempting, he thought, but shook his head anyway. It sucked, no pun intended, but he wasn't used to denying himself anything he wanted, but he guessed that was different now, too.

"My blood's already working. I don't have to drink from you to heal you."

"Oh."

She got up but told him she'd be right back. She needed some Excedrin because she knew she would have a headache from the blood. His blood caused different reactions in different people.

While she was gone he took the room in. The walls were blue and the carpet was white as was the dresser. The dresser had a bunch of odds and ends on it. Jewelry box, music box, pictures, lip gloss. Normal girl stuff. Except for a small notebook that he probably shouldn't have looked at but did anyway.

It was a lyrics book; he would definitely be checking that out later when he had time.

Because he was Damon Salvatore he had to look through her underwear drawer. Surprise, surprise, Rebecca had matching underwear sets. Blue, black, red, lilac - and most of them were made of lace.

"Hm." He could picture her wearing them now and he smirked.

"Oh, that's mature. Rebecca has girl parts, she wears bras."

Rebecca took her bra from him. He'd heard her coming; he just hadn't cared if he got caught.

"Behave," she chided gently. "My dad is in the other room."

That was all she needed, her dad thinking she was sleeping with someone. Her dad would end up getting her a metal chastity belt complete with lock and key.

She got the three journals out of her book bag and started reading the first one.

"What're those?" Damon asked.

"Watcher's journals. This one is from the 1700s."

It made it kind of hard to read because the language was so strange. She could make out enough to understand, though.

The way this Watcher wrote she could tell he'd probably been long-winded and pompous. She wondered if he talked as dull as he'd written. This really wasn't what she was looking for, anyway. She wanted first hand accounts from the Slayer's point of view. She wanted to know if it was normal for her to feel the way she did.

"Oh, dear Lord," she muttered, getting up to put that and the other two journals away. She had a place in her closet that her dad didn't know about. She'd pried a few boards loose and now whenever she had something she didn't want her dad to know about she put it in her secret place.

"Learn anything?" Damon asked sarcastically.

Rebecca jumped a little. She'd almost forgotten he was there he'd been so quiet. It had been peaceful, but now she could see he was bothered by being ignored, on purpose or not.

"No."

Then she realized she had absentmindedly laid beside him. She didn't care exactly - they'd laid in the same bed before - but she did have a small problem.

"Damon, you know I can't be with you while you're with Caroline. Or while she thinks you're with her. I'm not that girl." She deliberated and then said, "I know you need blood to survive, you can't help that, and if you feed from her or anyone else, that's fine. I'm not gonna ask you to give up human blood, it's your natural food source."

She grimaced slightly as she realized what she was saying.

"It shouldn't be fine, but I honestly don't care as long as no one dies. But as long as Caroline still thinks you two are together I can't even begin to try this out with you."

Damon's expression turned serious; there was no trace of sarcasm, no feigned indifference, no usual cold distance.

"But you do want to try?"

"Yes," she answered honestly. "I told you I would be here for you if that was what you wanted. I know that it's not gonna be easy. You'll need to get used to me again. 145 years is a long time. I mean, you need to figure out if I even fit in your life anymore, if I have a place in it."

"You do have a place in it." That was the quickest response known to man. "My whole life - or existence - I've never been more certain of anything. I survived to get back to you."

Rebecca had to swallow to get past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. He was telling her the truth; he'd come here for her. Granted, it wasn't going exactly the way she'd planned what with the whole Caroline thing, but he wanted to be with her. That was why he was in Mystic Falls.

Damon surprised her when he leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the forehead. That was neutral ground - friendly, but not overly friendly.

"I have to go take care of those bodies, bury them somewhere."

"Mm. Make sure they stay buried, please."

When Damon got up to leave Rebecca grabbed his arm to prevent him from moving anymore. Though she knew it was more like he let her stop him.

"Wait." She bit her lip briefly before continuing. "Thank you. For watching out for me. I know I didn't act it before, but I am grateful, so thank you."

A small graceful smile made it to Damon's lips and Rebecca exhaled sharply. That had to be her favorite smile. It wasn't big but it was honest and sincere. She almost heard the anytime he was probably thinking before he turned around and went out the window soundlessly.

Before she dozed off she wondered when the last time had been that someone had thanked Damon for anything.


	15. Chapter Eleven

"Diana, where did vampires come from?" Rebecca asked while practicing her arm movements. "I mean the very first one."

"Nobody really knows, but there are theories," the gray-haired Watcher said. "The Watcher's Council believes that demons walked the Earth for untold eons. When the humans appeared the demons died out, but not before infecting a few humans. The humans were bitten and then those humans bit other humans. They fed to survive. Mixed their blood with humans to make more of their kind."

"When - when you say demons . . . do you mean vampires, or . . ."

"Vampires are considered to be demons, yes. They walk and talk and remember their life but they're not human. But I didn't mean just vampires. There are other things out there. Werewolves, incubi, succubae, zombies . . . Things that you've probably never even heard of." Diana's voice suddenly softened. "That's why I train you so hard. I know what you might have to face one day. So remember when I'm hard on you I'm doing it for a good reason."

Rebecca was so shocked that she messed up one of her moves and had to redo the whole set. Could it be that Diana cared for her?

"Um . . . Okay. Um . . . I found three vampires last night. They didn't look local."

"Oh? Yes?" Diana got out a pen and a journal. "Vampires?"

"Killed 'em." What did Diana want, a blow-by-blow explanation? "Wasn't that hard."

"What did they want?"

"Um . . . To eat me? Just a shot in the dark. I don't think they knew who I am."

"What did you do with them?"

"Buried them. I didn't know what else to do."

Why couldn't they have just gone poof? It would've been so much simpler that way.

"No, that's fine." She looked at Rebecca suspiciously. "But you seem to be fine. You didn't get hurt at all?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. Either Diana was extremely British or she was actually disappointed that Rebecca was okay.

"I'm fine. I was a little sore this morning, but I'm okay. It wouldn't kill you to be happy. I promise no one has ever gotten hurt by smiling too much."

Rebecca went back to work until Diana told her it was okay to stop.

"I need you to help me with something tonight."

"Sure, what?"

"I'm getting a shipment of books tonight at nine o'clock. I could do it by myself, but it will go faster if you come with me."

"Well, I was planning to go to a football game, but if it's really important . . ."

"It is. It's more occult books. We may need them one day."

That was how Rebecca found herself near a cargo-holding warehouse in Richmond, VA, at a little after nine p.m. on a Friday night. Hopefully everything went smoothly because she was supposed to be home by eleven. Her dad still thought she was going to a football game with her friends.

Diana had picked a cargo-hold because there were always trucks of shipments coming and going and no one was going to notice one more truck, especially one that only carried books. Rebecca was with her in a van she'd rented - for the space in the back. Rebecca was sure that she was only there for the strength and speed she could provide. Diana was using her.

She felt as her phone vibrated against her hip. When she took it out of her jeans she noticed as Diana rolled her eyes. Rebecca smiled sheepishly before answering.

"Yes?"

"Becca?" Bonnie's worried voice came over the line. "Where are you?"

"Um . . ." Damn. "Helping a friend move some things. Why?"

"I've just had this bad feeling all day and when you didn't show up at the game I . . . freaked out. I'm . . . sorry."

"No, don't be." Rebecca smiled at the concern Bonnie was expressing, but internally she was beginning to worry herself; Bonnie's feelings were usually scary-accurate.

"What are you doing?"

"A favor for a friend. Like I told you." Rebecca sighed. "Look, Bonnie, why don't you come over tomorrow morning and I'll show you I'm completely okay. Okay?"

Bonnie chuckled and agreed.

"Kay, I really need to go but I'll see ya tomorrow."

With that, the conversation ended only for Diana to start a new one.

"The Council said to expect thieves. These books are priceless. There is knowledge in them that the bad guys would love to get their hands on. Prophecies and things like that."

"Human thieves?" Rebecca asked, not really caring about the books.

"Mm-mm. Demonic. Vampires. They're muscle for hire."

"So they'll be stealing the books for someone else." Then Rebecca groaned. "This is why you wanted me to come, isn't it?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"Why didn't you just tell me? I still would've helped you." Only she would've been more prepared.

"I'm telling you now. Someone made a play for the books in England. A lot of dead bodies were left behind. A lot of human bodies."

So whoever wanted them was pretty serious about it. Maybe she should pay attention after all.

"So, you said . . . prophecies. About what?"

"Different things; some of the books have information about you. Not you specifically, but the Slayer."

The conversation was cut short when Rebecca noticed the big semi-truck pulling a long, empty trailer; it was the first one that hadn't been carrying anything. This was probably what they'd been waiting for. The truck stopped near a loading station and the vehicle's lights cut off. Two people - vampires? She couldn't tell from this far away - came out of the loading area; two came out of the truck.

"All four of them are stone-cold killers," Diana said.

Rebecca glared at her Watcher. "Are these books really worth dying for?"

Are they worth becoming a vampire for? She asked herself. She might still have vampire blood in her system.

"We need those books, Rebecca," Diana said sternly.

"Fine. Stay here. If things go south, get out of here."

Rebecca was almost out of the van when Diana grabbed her arm. Diana had a leather bag that she handed to her.

"Those are four problems; this is a bag full of solutions."

Stakes. Rebecca grabbed the bag and went to hide behind a big metal container. The vampires were headed to another container, only this one was being lifted by a forklift. That meant there were other humans here.

Of course there were. Now not only did she have to make sure she got what Diana wanted, but she also had to not let people get a good look at her while she was fighting.

Rebecca could already tell this was not going to end well; the vampires were fast and before she could even warn the operator of the forklift, he was dead. Blood was just pouring down the guy's shirt - his jugular had been ripped open and it hadn't been with the intent to feed.

Rebecca stopped in her tracks and swallowed back the bile that wanted to make its way up her throat. That had been uncalled for and brutal and -

She sensed movement to her left and she moved just in time to miss a blow from a vampire. It would've hit her in the head, and now her shock and disgust had turned to anger.

Unlike the last fight, she didn't waste time with trading blows; she just staked the vampire and moved on. Two of the vampires were still working on getting the container so she only had to worry about the one she was fighting now. She'd worry about the other two later. The one she was fighting ended up throwing her against the corner of the container and it dug into her back.

She took a deep breath while she got used to the pain. Tears stung her eyes and made her vision blurry, but no, she couldn't cry, not right now. It would get her killed.

She grabbed the vampire that had thrown her by the head and twisted until she heard a snap. Okay, that worked . . . Until it healed, anyway. She staked him just for good measure.

She had two more to go and one of them deserved serious pain for killing the guy on the forklift. She would have to put her wrath away, though, because that wasn't important; surviving was. Then she and Diana were going to have a big discussion about what was and wasn't worth dying over. A load of books was not.

Another forklift operator was killed - a vampire ripped his head clean off. The bile rose in her throat again, but she knew she had to fight through it.

She ran toward the forklift that had the hopefully precious cargo on it and heard as the onsite security system began to siren loudly. That meant she had only seven minutes before the police responded; that meant the two vampires did too. If she could just keep them occupied long enough . . . Yeah, the cargo would end up in police custody but it was better than it disappearing forever.

Then the onsite security team showed up and they had guns. Needless to say, Rebecca stayed hidden while there were shots being fired. Hopefully enough bullets were landing to seriously weaken the vampires or to make them retreat.

Within a few minutes Rebecca was back in the van with Diana. Diana had come for her as soon as the gunshots had started.

"Did you get them?" Rebecca asked weakly. Rebecca was in serious pain so whatever they'd meant to get Diana better have gotten it.

"We're getting them now." Diana gave her a once over. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Rebecca cried out when her back hit the seat and they resituated her.

"We'll get you to a hospital soon."

"No," Rebecca almost shouted. "That would freak my dad out and then I'd have to explain why I was here and I can't lie to him. Just get me home."

Diana looked like she was completely against that idea, but she didn't disagree out loud.

"Take me home," she said as firmly as she could manage.

Rebecca waited semi-patiently for Diana to get whatever it was that Diana thought she needed. Rebecca experimented with her shoulder but stopped very quickly when pain skyrocketed through it. While Diana was helping load the big box of books - was that really all that was in there? - Rebecca had the presence of mind to call Damon. She didn't really want to have this conversation with him, but she needed to so . . .

"Hello?"

"Hey. I need your help. I was doing a favor for a friend and it went horribly wrong. I hurt my shoulder, bad . . . And I can't go to the hospital. If you think you can handle the blood I'd really appreciate if you could come over. I'm not home yet, but I will be soon."

And she'd seen two people get killed tonight in cold blood. The first had had his throat ripped out. Had the man died instantly or had he panicked and tried to stop the blood flow? The second man's death had been quick but just as traumatizing.

"Rebecca, listen to me," Damon's voice called her back and then she realized that she was hyperventilating and he could probably hear it even over the phone. There was an edge to his voice that she hadn't heard from vampire Damon: Concern. He was . . . still capable of it.

"I'm listening."

"How much blood have you lost?" At least he seemed to know she wouldn't have called for this if it hadn't been important.

"I don't know. Diana said a lot. And I can't move my shoulder. I don't think it's broken, though." She'd been able to move it fine when she'd had adrenaline rushing through her.

"Okay. Number one: calm down. Freaking out is not going to help you. Try to breathe normally, match it to whoever you're with. You need to calm your heartbeat or you're going to bleed out faster."

Rebecca listened to his voice and since he sounded calm it helped soothe her. It couldn't be too bad if Damon could be this calm about it. She couldn't be in that much trouble if he was being rational about it.

"You'll be there when I get home. Right?" Because, really, that was the point to this conversation, wasn't it?

"Yes, I'll be there. I'll need to find something to eat before I see you like that. Then later you and I need to talk about you needlessly putting your life at risk." The last part was said lightly, but she could tell he was serious. "I didn't wait 145 years just to lose you again after I found you."  
\----------  
Damon did as he'd said he was going to do. He'd fed before going to Rebecca's house. He'd gone to Caroline's house. She'd just gotten home from a football game; she'd still been in her cheerleading uniform. He had drank enough to make her pass out and he'd considered draining her just to be on the safe side, but her mother was the Sheriff and she wouldn't have stopped until she'd found Caroline's killer.

But here he was, now in Rebecca's room waiting for her to return. What had she been doing that had caused her to be hurt? Who had the friend been and what was the favor? What had been so important that Rebecca had been willing to risk her life for it?

Human life - Rebecca's life - was fragile. It could end in a second; Damon could lose Rebecca in an instant. He'd spent so much time not caring about anything other than getting back to Rebecca that he hadn't really thought about what would happen once he found her. Rebecca was a Slayer; he'd learned over the years that most girls who were chosen didn't make it past the twenty-five year mark. He'd already seen how dangerous her life could be and he knew she got hurt easier now only because all of this was new to her, but what if, one day, something worse happened and he wasn't there?

He finally heard the front door open - Thank God, I was beginning to brood, he thought - and Rebecca came to her room quickly.

The vampire in him wanted to emerge and his teeth ached with the desire to plunge into her soft flesh, but he kept it in check. It had been smart to feed before coming here. He'd have had a way harder time controlling himself if he hadn't. As it was, his canines began to elongate but he breathed through it and got control again. He'd been able to control his bloodlust for a long time, but since he was a vampire and she was bleeding badly, his body reacted on instinct.

Rebecca was just standing there, dazed. She was pale; her usually tan skin had almost no color. From shock or blood loss he wasn't sure. What he was sure of, however, was that if she didn't sit down soon, she was going to topple over. So he helped her to the bed.

"I cut my shoulder on this metal container . . . thing," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It hurts to move it."

He could tell her mind was getting ready to shut down so he had to act fast. He knew how much blood a person could lose before they became unresponsive and Rebecca was close to that point.

"Do you trust me?" he asked firmly enough for her to pay attention. "Do you trust me enough to let me remove your necklace?"

She bit her lip and contemplated. Then she said 'yes' hesitantly. He could tell it meant she wasn't sure she should trust him, but she was giving him a chance for him to prove she could. It was more than what most people gave him.

He removed the vervain-filled cross necklace that Sheila Bennett had given her and placed it on her bedside table, all the while reminding himself who he was with and that he shouldn't take advantage.

"Okay, I'm gonna take off your shirt now." He was being clinical about it, not that she was too aware of what was going on around her. He helped her get the shirt off because he didn't want her to try to move her shoulder too much. Just because Rebecca didn't think it was broken didn't mean it wasn't.

At the sight of the blood still leaking from her wound he had to turn his head away and imagine he was anywhere but there. Because he wanted it. Why hadn't Rebecca just gone to the hospital? She shouldn't have called him, that was for sure.

She trusts you, a voice that sounded a lot like his own only . . . not filled his head. She believes in you.

Well, that's just stupid, he answered back. I'm a vampire.

Then he realized he was having a conversation with himself in his head and focused on what he should have been focusing on in the first place. Rebecca. He needed to make sure she hadn't damaged her shoulder too badly, but to do that he needed to be able to move it.

"Okay, Becca -" she smiled softly at the shortening of her name "- Look at me. I have to move your shoulder but I promise you won't feel any pain, okay?"

She nodded but even now her breathing was becoming fast and shallow; she was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Hey -" he began to use his compulsion "- Becca, you're okay. You're going to go to sleep and you're not going to feel anything of what I'm about to do."

"I'm not going to feel anything of what you're about to do," she agreed mechanically.

Her eyes closed and she went limp in his arms. He placed her on the bed the way he needed her and then went to work on her. He made sure the compulsion took first and he felt a sharp jolt of relief when he saw it did. This wouldn't hurt her.

These sudden waves of emotions were annoying and hard to keep up with . . . But he could deal with it. If it meant being able to be close to Rebecca, being someone she could rely on . . . he would deal with it.

Damon did his best to stop the blood flow but unless he wanted to stitch her up, which he didn't, there was no way to humanly do it.

"Becca, you're going to wake up now," he whispered into her ear, "but you're still not going to feel any pain."

Well, actually, the pain was still there but her brain wasn't registering it - the beauty of compulsion.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, confused. "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"I feel as though I should be in a lot of pain."

A small huff of laughter made its way out of his mouth. She felt as though she should be in pain? Was that because she remembered what had happened or because her mind was trying to fight off the compulsion? Could Slayers do that?

Damon bit his wrist and held it to her mouth. "I can't stop the blood, you need to drink."

She didn't hesitate this time, he noticed. And he wasn't compelling her now. She knew he was trying to help her and she accepted it without thinking. He vaguely wondered if someone could get addicted to vampire blood. He'd given her blood four times - twice in the past; twice in the present. But she didn't seem addicted; she was the one who let go of his arm first when she thought she'd had enough.

"Thank you."

"You okay?"

She nodded and he watched as she happily moved her shoulder until she realized she was shirtless, clad only in her bra. Her nose scrunched up, she closed her eyes, bit her lip and her cheeks turned pink. At least there was color now. Her arms crossed over her chest to cover herself and she groaned a little.

Dare he think it but she was adorable when she was embarrassed. He'd missed her so much and he'd forgotten how shy she could be.

"I, uh, seem to be having a bit of a clothing issue. Um . . ." She stood up unsteadily. "I'm gonna go take a shower and then we can talk."

She picked up her bloody shirt and muttered, "Guess I should just burn this. It's all ruined."

Then she got her bed sheets together and he realized she was removing anything and everything that could tempt him to lose control. Which was ridiculous because didn't she know she was tempting all by herself? He didn't need to see or smell her blood to want it, just like he didn't need to see her to want her.

"You are still going to be here, right?" she asked uncertainly. "I mean, if you have to go, I understand."

"Go take your shower." She didn't move; she just looked at him, into his eyes, waiting for an answer. "Yes, I'll be here."

Stubborn girl, he thought fondly.  
\----------  
After Rebecca put the sheets in the washer she got into a steaming hot shower and tried to make her head stop hurting. No, there was no physical ache but she needed a good mental tidy. The two men she'd seen get killed kept running through her mind; she couldn't un-see what she'd seen. It would be forever etched into her memory. Usually she could just block painful memories, but this wasn't just painful; these were traumatizing.

While thinking about the two men she watched her own blood, now pink with the water, go down the drain. Her tears mixed with the water coming from the showerhead and she knew she was going to start sobbing if she wasn't careful. Then she realized she didn't care if she was going to cry because she felt like crying. She needed to cry to feel better, to get it off her chest. But she wanted to be held when she cried so she held on for a few more minutes.

Also it would kind of be a test to see if vampire Damon would even know how to handle her when she was like this. Would he hold her like he had when he'd been human? Or would he flee from her because she was falling apart?

When she was clean and hopefully free of the blood smell she got out and put on a t-shirt and shorts. She noticed that her reflection was almost unrecognizable. The bathroom mirror showed her someone that couldn't have been Rebecca Stone. This girl's skin was pale and unhealthy looking. This girl's eyes were dull and almost lifeless instead of the usually sparkling emerald.

She'd lost a part of herself that night, a part she would never be able to get back. She'd seen two people brutally murdered. She began to hyperventilate again so she brushed her teeth just to give herself something to do. She was putting off the inevitable. Only when there was absolutely nothing left for her to do did she return to her bedroom. She took a deep breath before she opened her bedroom door.

Damon was standing on the other side of the room near the window and Chelsea's crib, and that stupid crow was at her windowsill; it took her mind off the problem at hand.

"Friend of yours?" she asked.

Damon shrugged. "Whenever that bird's around I'm usually not that far behind."

"Hm." That explained why it had been following her around. "Okay. So, uh . . . Here's the thing. I saw something tonight and it really bothered me. So much so that I'm about to have a real sob-fest and I'm giving you an out right now if you don't want to see that. But if you think you can handle a crying girl, I'd love for you to stay."

Damon sat on the bed and opened his arms for her to fall into.

"I dimly recall how to handle you when you cry. Come here."

Rebecca wondered if he was being serious and felt a few brief seconds of relief when she realized he was. He was staying. Her somewhat calm façade slipped and her face contorted with pain. But she was in his arms and the ache was dulled by the simple fact that he was there. He still felt the same, his embrace was still soothing. That, at least, hadn't changed.

She'd half expected him to make a snarky comment and then disappear into the night; she was glad that wasn't the case. She needed this and she knew she couldn't really give him anything back, not right now, but she needed the quiet comfort he could provide, that he knew how to give.

Rebecca was almost silent when she cried. She'd had too much practice hiding her pain from her dad - not that he really cared, anyway - to not be able to control the extent of her breakdowns. Only this time she had someone who was trying to help her by just being there. He didn't say anything, just like he hadn't the first time when he'd been human. Though Rebecca noticed he'd held himself stiffly for the first few minutes; he wasn't used to comforting people . . . It wasn't normal for him anymore.

Damon got the gist of the story even though she knew she was babbling on and on; he probably wanted to tell her to shut the hell up, actually. When she got to the part about the two murders she slowed down so he would understand why she was upset.

Damon didn't say anything; he just listened and she was grateful. She knew the two people who had been killed were probably just two more bodies to him, and she didn't want any sarcasm directed her way about this. She couldn't handle it. Human life wasn't a joke to her; human life was what she was supposed to protect and she hadn't that night. Two people were dead and she knew she couldn't have done anything differently but it still hurt her.  
\----------  
Damon stayed with Rebecca even after she fell asleep. He listened to make sure her dad or aunt didn't come near the room; the last thing he needed was to get her in trouble. She had enough problems as it was.

He remembered the first time he'd seen someone killed when he'd been in the war. He hadn't freaked out but he had shed a few tears over it. He hadn't known the person but it had still upset him to see it up close and personal like that. He'd been a soldier and he now realized that she was one too. Different battle, different war with the same concept.

He knew from experience that the first few deaths were the hardest. It wouldn't affect her as much later, but he was going to try his hardest not to let her lose that innocence. Normal people didn't grow numb to things like that; not that Rebecca was normal by any standards.

Rebecca had said something about her Watcher and a shipment of books and he wondered what exactly was so important about them that Rebecca had gotten hurt for them. And who did that Watcher chick think she was anyway, throwing Rebecca into the fray like that? Rebecca wasn't immortal; she couldn't just get hurt over and over and live through it. Rebecca was lucky she'd only been sliced in the shoulder. Granted, the wound had reached to the bone and was bad. A few inches lower and she may have punctured a lung, and she wouldn't have gotten to him in time. And he would've waited 145 years for nothing. He would've lost it if he lost her, especially now after finally having her with him again.

Rebecca snuggled into his side and he studied her face as she nuzzled against his chest. God, he'd been reduced to a cuddle monkey or whatever teenage girls called it now. Rebecca looked peaceful, at least, but that was because she hadn't put her necklace back on and he was controlling what she saw.

No, he wasn't making her have sexy dreams, though he was sorely tempted to try. But, excuse the pun, he didn't want to mind-fuck with her. She might try and kick his ass in the morning. Something told him Rebecca could do a better job than Caroline Forbes.

Right now Rebecca was relaxing at the top of the Falls at the get-together place the high school students used. It was sunny but not too hot. Around seventy-five degrees. Nothing could reach her there, not with him controlling her dream.

He ran his fingers through her hair and let himself be happy and stress free. Even though other people couldn't see it, still waters ran deep. He'd always felt things deeply, which was why he'd worked so hard to shut his humanity out.

Contrary to popular belief, he hadn't always been a dick; he'd had to work at it. It was second nature to him now. Except, apparently, when it came to Rebecca. Though he wasn't exactly perfectly nice - he was still sarcastic and all that - but he wasn't itching to snap her neck either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so obviously the mythology from Buffy differs from that of Vampire Diaries and that is why I called it a theory. I'm sticking more with TVD, but the others haven't been introduced yet, so . . . yeah, can't have that explanation in here yet.
> 
> Also . . . if I haven't already, I disclaim TVD as my own. I don't own anything you recognize from the show. I don't own the mythology behind Slayers either!


	16. Chapter Thirteen

Rebecca slowly drifted out of her foggy dream state only to freak out when she found that she was pressed up close to somebody. Someone was in her bed!

She sprung upwards faster than was smart and grabbed her head when it got all dizzy. Oh, what was wrong with her? And . . . Why was Damon asleep in her bed? Why was he in her bed, period?

Well, they were both fully clothed so that was good. And he was insanely handsome and, even though he was a vampire, he looked innocent when he was asleep.

And, oh God . . . Was her dad here? If he was, he obviously hadn't checked in on her because she would've heard yelling if he had.

When her brain began functioning normally things slowly began to come back to her and she knew why Damon was there. She'd been hurt and he'd had to heal her again. He'd held her when she'd cried; he'd remembered exactly how she needed - liked - to be comforted. When she was crying she didn't want to have anyone say anything because most likely it would just piss her off. She didn't know what caused that particular reaction, but there it was.

She took deep breaths until she was able to force the memories back to where she stored all the things she didn't ever want to think about again. She'd cried about it last night so that, at least, was out of her system; now was the hard part. Functioning properly. Nobody could know what had happened the night before.

"Damon?" she whispered; she didn't know if she should just let sleeping vampires lie.

"Hm?"

She smiled softly; he hadn't been sleeping at all, apparently.

"Is my dad home?"

"Nope. Neither is your aunt."

"Okay, good." She relaxed exponentially. "Did you want to crash here for a while? Bonnie's supposed to come over later, so it's up to you."

"You don't care that she may run and tell Caroline that you're hanging with me?"

"No. And Bonnie wouldn't do that. Besides, friends hang with each other. We're not doing anything wrong." She bit her lip anxiously. "How is that going, anyway? Breaking up with Caroline . . ."

Damon's eyes opened and he looked at her. "I fed from her last night before coming here. She's gonna have a hell of a headache today."

Rebecca was happy he was being honest even though there were some things she just didn't need to know. And that hadn't been her question, anyway. So she did what she normally did and just kept eye contact with him until he answered. That technique worked with a lot of people.

"I feed from her and I make her forget," he said, shrugging. "That's it." He grinned a little. "The morning after the first time she completely freaked out. I was just going to compel her to forget, but she started hitting me with anything she could get her hands on."

When he said that Rebecca burst out laughing. She could totally see that happening. Caroline wasn't good with anything that wasn't normal. She knew she should probably be furious that he was munching on Caroline but she wasn't.

"Um . . . I think you'll find most people would freak out after being bitten by a vampire. Especially when said person doesn't know about vampires." Then more soberly. "Thank you. Again. Not just for the healing, but for what came after."

"Yes, well, it was completely annoying. Don't do it again."

Rebecca knew him enough to know he meant the complete opposite of what he was saying. Not to mention he had a small smile on his lips, which meant he wasn't being serious.

"Okay, so . . . What do you like to eat that isn't, y'know, liquid?"

"I dunno, food?"

"That's helpful." She smiled too, feeling intense relief that she wasn't all knotted up inside. "Anyway, I'm going to go find me something to eat. Um, you can sleep if you want to. Or you can come with me to the kitchen. Whichever."

By that time, Chelsea had started making noises. She'd been alerted by their voices, obviously. She probably needed a change anyway.

Rebecca went to the crib and picked up her sister before the girl could start crying and placed her on the bed. Chelsea grabbed onto Rebecca's hair with one hand because it was long, and she began chewing on her other one. Chelsea looked slightly flushed and Rebecca remembered suddenly that before the whole spell thing had taken place that her baby sister had been warm with a fever.

Damon hadn't moved from his spot on the bed and Rebecca wondered if he was deciding whether or not he should acknowledge Chelsea's presence. Rebecca didn't really understand this Damon and she didn't want to ask about anything yet.

Chelsea had been wet and now that she was dry Rebecca picked her back up and walked out the room.

In the kitchen Rebecca got to work on scrambled eggs and toast. While she was cooking Damon sat at the table looking at something. A card, it looked like. Chelsea had a bottle in her hands and was seated in a highchair. A soft sucking/slurping sound filled the room.

"Did you know your family has been invited to the Founder's party?" Damon asked.

"No," Rebecca replied. "We usually don't. Dad works with the Council now, though, that's probably why." She sighed as she opened the refrigerator door. "I think he knows about vampires."

"If he works with the Council, it's possible." Damon got up and invaded her personal space. "Now, who are you taking to this thing?"

"I never even said I was going to go," she reminded him gently. "Do you want to go?"

"We can get it right this time around," he said. "You and me, what d'you say?" His eyes did that thing he was known for and she groaned.

"As long as you're not going with Caroline, yes. And that eye thing isn't fair. It's hard to say no when you do that."

"Well, that doesn't give me incentive to stop then, does it?"

"Fine, I'll go. That means I gotta get a dress. When is it?"

"Next week, Friday."

She glared at him playfully. "You better make sure I have a good time. I hate these stupid things."

"Fun will be had," he promised. "You need some fun, your life sucks."

She had to admire the bluntness of that statement. Her life did suck and she did need to have fun. She also needed to tend to the eggs before they burned. Damon had distracted her, which he was very good at. He deserved a metal.

She fixed two plates - one for him and one for her - and they ate at the table. Damon didn't mention the Founder's party again; she figured it was because he'd gotten his way so there was no need to. The party thing wasn't so bad. If she'd really had her heart set against it, he wouldn't have been able to persuade her so easily.

"These books that were so important . . . What were they? You never said."

"Diana said they had prophecies or something in them, about the Slayer - about me - and other weird stuff."

"Weird stuff like vampires?"

"I guess, I don't know. She didn't tell me there were going to be thieves until we got there."

Speaking of Diana, Rebecca couldn't see her for at least a week. Diana didn't know about Damon or the fact that Rebecca was willing to drink his blood to heal herself, and Rebecca wanted to keep it that way. She wasn't exactly sure how Diana would react about the whole vampire thing.

"The thieves were muscle for hire."

"For who?"

"I dunno. Diana didn't say. The warehouse was in Richmond, though, so whoever it is they have to live around here somewhere, and they're going to be pretty angry that they didn't get what they wanted. I was only able to stop two of them before security took over."

"Thieves were vampires?"

"Yeah." She sighed and reached over to grab his hand. It twitched, but he let her continue anyway. "I'm sorry. I'm not meaning to make your life more complicated; it's just sort of working out that way."  
\----------  
Damon didn't say it, but the complications weren't a problem as long as he could have her along with them. Besides, he'd been around a long time; complications were his way of life. They were nothing new; he'd grown used to them a long time ago.

He was aware their relationship was going to be hard sometimes - not that they were in a relationship. No, he was just working toward one. The whole Caroline thing had kind of put a brief pause on things, but it was easily fixable. Rebecca wasn't the type to hold grudges, though she was cute when she tried.

Whatever. Point was she was a Vampire Slayer and he was a vampire; of course there were going to be some difficulties. Their very natures should make them hate each other, and yet . . . He wasn't even human and she was. That would be a problem if they let it be.

Rebecca was now in her room getting dressed and Damon was going through one of the Watcher's journals Diana had loaned her. He was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that he wasn't supposed to be reading this because he was a vampire.

Rebecca had left Chelsea with him in an obvious attempt of trying to make him pay attention to the girl. She seemed okay; she was on the floor, on some blankets, still drinking from her bottle.

Going back to the book . . . The Slayer he was reading about had been alive in the 1700s during the French Revolution. She'd been killed by three extremely vicious vampires. He noticed that after the girl had died that the journal entries had abruptly stopped. Had it been too painful for the Watcher to go on or had said Watcher just not cared?

This girl, this Slayer, hadn't made it past the age of eighteen. Rebecca was almost eighteen. She would be in just as much danger as the Slayer he was reading about had been in. Even more so if these muscle-for-hire guys were anything to go by. What if there were more where they came from?

He closed the book as Rebecca came back in the room. She was wearing a midnight blue t-shirt that had a V-neck and dark wash jeans. Her hair was up in a messy bun and a few tendrils of her honey-blond waves framed her face. There was a light glow coming from her lips - tell-tale sign of lip gloss - but other than that her skin was clear of makeup. She was beautiful.

She plopped down beside him and reached for the book he'd been reading.

"Find anything interesting?"

"Slayer called, Slayer fought, Slayer died. The usual. What exactly are you looking for?"

"I don't know. I want to know about these other girls. Something other than the fact that they're dead now. You know? Like how did they feel? Did they have people in their lives who knew their secret? Were they - were they like me?"

"What d'you mean were they like you?"

"You know, were they different? Did they . . . feel disconnected from everything, from life, from their friends? I mean, I've always been different, I've always felt like I've been out of tune with everybody else around me. I guess now I know why I felt different."

"Oh, please." Damon rolled his eyes. "You're the only person in this town I can stand. They're the ones who're crazy."

"I never said I was crazy," she said, glaring playfully. "I said I was different."

"Yeah, crazy," Damon said, smirking. Though he was of the opinion that what made her different made her beautiful. He'd been drawn to her in 1864 for that very reason. She was different.

She'd held herself more confidently than most women had back then and he'd liked it. But now . . . Now he could see her insecurities shining through. She thought the Slayer thing made her less attractive. She'd been normal, for lack of a better word, for 17 years and then she'd been shoved into the world of the supernatural. She'd tried to accept it, embrace it with grace, but he could tell she was slipping. She didn't want to be victimized by her circumstances, so she hadn't let herself be. She'd started training and she did her best to stay cool. She'd made it a part of her life since she knew she couldn't walk away from it, couldn't just ignore it.

He heard a car pull into the drive and said, "Someone's here."

"Probably Bonnie. Can you get the door? I have to put the book back."

He arched an eyebrow in agreement and she got up to go to her room. When he opened the door he saw three surprised faces.

Bonnie, Elena and Caroline.

"Oh," he said. "Oops."

Awkward.  
\----------  
When Rebecca came back out of her room she stopped in the mouth of the living room. Damon was at the door and Elena, Bonnie and . . . Caroline - uh-oh - were coming inside.

Elena and Bonnie were surprised by Damon being there; Caroline looked hurt. Rebecca was sorry, she really was, but she'd seen Damon first. And Damon didn't even really like Caroline, whereas he did like Rebecca. He cared about her in his vampire Damon way. He had come running when she'd called the night before, which at least proved he didn't want her to die.

"Oh, okay, um . . ." Rebecca stuttered. "Wow, this doesn't have to be as awkward as we're making it out to be."

There was tension filling the room because of the Caroline/Damon/Rebecca thing. Elena and Bonnie were shooting accusations her way with their eyes.

"What's he doing here?" Caroline asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Hangin' out," Damon said, shrugging and smirking wickedly.

"Hanging out?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Care," Rebecca said. "Friends do that, you know. So . . . And we were friends before he even met you."

Rebecca was being nice while saying those things because she didn't want to hurt Caroline's delicate baby feelings. But she was telling the truth. She had known Damon before he'd met Caroline - long before. Speaking of Damon, he seemed to be getting amusement from the situation, and it wasn't even funny.

"You're not just hanging out," Caroline accused, hurt. "You're acting all weird." Then to Damon . . . "You broke up with me for her?"

The way she'd said her was definitely insulting and Rebecca felt the urge to snap back, but she didn't let herself. She couldn't really say anything anyway because she knew what Caroline had said was true. Damon had done it for her, so he could try to be with her. So, really, maybe he'd done it for himself, but still . . .

"We are just hanging out," Rebecca said. For now, she added silently.

"For now," Damon said out loud. Damon's blue eyes sparkled with mischief and amusement and he seemed to be waiting to see what Rebecca would do next.

Forgetting the fact that she'd been thinking the same thing he'd said, she said, "You're not helping."

He shrugged and waited for the drama to unfold. He was enjoying the fact that everyone was uncomfortable. Jerk. Hot jerk, but he was still a jerk. His behavior was not endearing him to her at all.

These were her friends; couldn't he at least try to be nice?

"Well, I came here to see if you were okay because of Bonnie's witch thing," Caroline said with attitude, "so I'm not leaving."

Caroline sat down on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. She then proceeded to pout. Damon arched an eyebrow in amusement. Rebecca had to admit that the picture Caroline painted of a spoiled rich girl not getting her way was a little funny.

After Caroline sat down, Elena and Bonnie followed suit and they began talking. Rebecca hoped Damon would behave.

Rebecca had taken a seat on the floor with her sister and the girl had reached for her automatically. Chelsea was on Rebecca's lap now, chewing on her own hand.

"So how was the game last night?" Rebecca asked since she hadn't been able to go.

"Jeremy got into a fight with Tyler," Elena said, "got knocked around pretty bad."

"Did Tyler start it?" Though Rebecca would've been on Jeremy's side even if he had started it. She actually got along with Jeremy.

"I don't know. We got there in the middle."

"Elena quit cheerleading," Caroline offered, still in full-on pout mode.

Rebecca noticed for the first time that Caroline was wearing a scarf around her neck; she assumed that was to hide the bite mark. Damon must've compelled her to wear it.

"Really?" Rebecca looked at Elena. "I thought you wanted to get back to normal." Elena had loved cheerleading.

Elena shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess that's not normal for me anymore."

Rebecca understood that. Elena had been through something traumatizing, what with her parents deaths, and she needed to find out who she was now. Rebecca was going through the same thing but with different circumstances.

Elena began playing absentmindedly with a silver pendent that was hanging from a silver chain around her neck. Rebecca had never seen it before.

"That's new," she remarked.

"Hm?" Elena snapped out of it. "Oh. Yeah. Stefan gave it to me. He said it was for good luck."

"Hm." Rebecca moved to sit beside Elena; she left Chelsea on the floor to play. "May I see it?"

Elena looked confused for a second but she removed the necklace from herself and handed it to Rebecca. Rebecca noticed the fragrance in the necklace right away. Vervain. If Stefan had given it to Elena that meant neither Damon nor Stefan could do any of their mind tricks on her.

"Anyway, moving on," Rebecca said, handing Elena her necklace back. "Please. What do you guys want to do that doesn't involve us being here acting awkward with each other? The truth is I asked Damon to be here -" she didn't mention when she'd asked him "- and I'm sorry if anybody has a problem with that, but he's not going anywhere until he wants to."

Rebecca had only made that little speech because Caroline was still pouting. Besides, that pretty much cleared everything up, right? She was letting Damon know she wouldn't choose her friends over him but that she wanted to spend time with them too. She was also letting him know she knew she couldn't make him do anything he didn't want to do and she didn't want to change him. If he needed changing, it was a decision for him to make. As far as she knew he was fine the way he was. Of course Damon was probably keeping things from her, but she hadn't asked him any really personal questions yet. He wasn't as open as he used to be and she didn't want to push him away by coming on too strong.

"Mr. Tanner's in trouble," Caroline said, losing a little of the attitude. "A few videos made it to the principal's office."

"Videos?"

"My cell phone," Caroline enthused. "One of his bouts of student harassment."

"Are they firing him?" Elena asked.

"Maybe."

Rebecca smiled. "Never did like that guy. Jackass history teacher."

That actually got a reaction out of Damon; his mouth twitched as if he were forcing back a smile.

"Gotta give you props for that one, Care," Rebecca said.

Caroline seemed proud of herself, and she was over her pouting spell.

The door started to open and then Rebecca's aunt walked in with groceries; apparently she'd been shopping.

"Hey, kids," she said, stepping in. "Becca, help me? Some groceries are still in the car."

"Oh, uh . . . Tina, this is Damon. Damon, this is my aunt Tina."

Damon stood up when she introduced him and took the grocery bag from Tina. So apparently he was going to be on good behavior now.  
\----------  
Damon Salvatore was nothing if not charming when he wanted to be. Helping Rebecca help her aunt? Charming. He had to make a good impression because Rebecca's aunt could potentially cause problems for them. Not as much as her dad could, but . . .

And excluding a split second decision, killing Rebecca's family would not be a good option.

He and Rebecca put the bags in the kitchen and Rebecca helped her aunt put the groceries away.

"What do you do, Damon?"

"Well, nothing right now. I'm, uh, legal guardian to my brother. We just moved here - or back here."

"Legal guardian? Your parents . . . I'm so sorry."

Damon gave her a polite smile. "It happened a while ago, but thank you."

Damon looked at Rebecca, who was slowly relaxing since he was being not-evil Damon right now.

"You know, I can never catch her dad here so I'd like to ask your permission to escort Rebecca to the Founder's party next week."

"You're . . . asking permission?" Tina was surprised, Damon could tell. "Finally a boy who was raised right."

Rebecca smiled openly; it reminded Damon of why he was doing this. He'd never admit it out loud, but he loved making her smile. He had before he'd been turned and he found that hadn't changed in the last 145 years.

"Well, as long as Rebecca wants to go, it's fine with me."

"Yes, please," Rebecca said, cheeks a little rosy. "Is Dad going?"

"Assuming your dad is sober," Tina said bitterly, "he will be there."

"Hm. Where is he?"

"Council meeting. He won't tell me what's so important about those things. Anyway -" Tina's voice took on a teasing tone "- what are your intentions with my niece, Damon?"

"Mostly to show her a good time next Friday night. With school and everything she needs a little fun."

He'd gone with that because the alternative of 'I intend to love her forever, which might entail her living forever' probably wouldn't go over well.

"She has been a little down lately," Tina agreed. "I know her dad doesn't help any."

"Standing right here," Rebecca reminded them. "And I'm fine." She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go see if the others want something to drink."

As she walked out of the kitchen Damon heard her whisper, "Nicely done."

What? He could behave when he needed to. When it served his purpose to. It just so happened to work in his favor to be charming at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I WANTED to have Damon have some interaction with baby Chelsea, but I don't think Damon - at this point in time - would feel comfortable with that. He's probably never had any experience with kids, so it would probably be weird for him. And as for the little scene with everyone in the living room . . . I so think Damon would get a kick out of two girls acting that way about him. Anyway . . .
> 
> Let me know what you think, as always.
> 
> Love you guys.


	17. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, clearing something up, here. I know in the show Damon killed Mr. Tanner, but in this he obviously wasn't even at the football game where Mr. Tanner died. So I had to find a different was to get rid of him. LOL. And as far as I know, it's illegal for a teacher to harass students and embarrass them they way he did in the show, so getting him fired seemed like a realistic way to do that.

Three days before the Founder's party Rebecca found herself shopping in Richmond with Bonnie and Elena - Caroline hadn't been able to make it. Rebecca was content with that; Caroline wasn't really talking to Rebecca or making eye contact lately. Rebecca was almost completely certain that it had nothing to do with Damon and more with the fact that a guy had chosen Rebecca over Caroline.

Back to the shopping: All three girls were looking for a dress. Rebecca wasn't picky and she was a fast shopper. She knew she wanted something the moment she saw it, and what she wanted now was a pale blue, silk-and lace number.

The bottom flowed down to just above her knees; it was one of those dresses that twirled when you spun - those were her favorite kind. The bottom was silky and it led to the lacy top. The top half was sheer and almost see-through; almost but not quite. The dress had a clasp that attached at the back of her neck to keep everything covered that should be covered.

"Ooh, that's pretty," Elena said. "But now you're gonna have to wait for us and you know that will take forever."

"As long as that's not a literal forever take you're time." Rebecca wanted to look for more clothes anyway; what with her new hobby she needed to extend her wardrobe.

"So . . . You and Damon . . ." Bonnie started. "Are you together now?"

"No," Rebecca said a little too quickly. "I mean . . . I like him. I just don't . . . know him. Well, sometimes it's like he's right there and then the next I don't even know who I'm talking to."

It was true. They could be in the middle of a conversation and then she'd say something and he would either find a reason to leave or he'd act distant. She guessed she'd need to get used to it if she was going to continue to hang around him.

"Hm. Same with Stefan. He won't talk about himself much and when he does it's only half-answers or sometimes even non-answers. There's just so much that's . . . strange about him."

"What d'you mean?" Rebecca asked.

Was Elena getting close to the truth? Was she suspicious of vampirism at all?

"Well, he shows up out of nowhere. Though now that I mention it Damon does that too. But anyway, Stefan . . . One second he's there and then he just disappears. And then last Friday at the game I saw him cut his hand, but then there was no wound. All he said is 'I'm fine' and 'it's not my blood'. But I know what I saw."

"Hm."

Rebecca couldn't say anything without either lying or nudging Elena gently in the right direction. Or wrong direction, depending on how you looked at it.

"And then Bonnie's vision -"

"It wasn't a vision. I told you it was more a . . . feeling," Bonnie said. "A cold, bad feeling."

Rebecca busied herself with looking through the shirts that were in display. The girls would probably see the guilty yet sheepish look on her face if she looked at them.

She wished she could talk to them. She wished she could talk to someone other than Damon and Sheila and Diana about her Slayer thing. Yes, Damon was good to talk to about some things, but with others it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not. And Sheila and Diana were too biased to be fair.

And no offense to Damon, but sometimes . . . Sometimes she wanted someone human to talk to. Someone who could understand the way humans felt. She wasn't sure Damon did anymore; if he did, he refused to acknowledge it.

"So what do you think?" Elena asked Rebecca, holding up a red-ish dress that had flower designs on it in lighter red tones.

"It's pretty . . . It's shiny." Silky. Rebecca liked silk. "Have you asked Stefan to go yet?"

Elena looked down. "No. Not sure he wants to."

"You won't know until you ask," Bonnie said softly. Then, "I take it you're going with Damon?"

"Yes, but only because he wanted to go. I was planning on being conveniently unavailable that night, but . . ."

"Are you going as friends?" Elena asked cautiously.

"Yes. Um . . . He is - uh, it's complicated. But he does want to be with me. It's just . . . I need time and I think he does too. I told him if he wanted to be with me then he couldn't be with Caroline. That I wouldn't be that girl."

"So he did break up with her because of you?"

"Yes."

"Do you think it could get serious?"

"Um . . . Maybe. Define serious."

Elena and Bonnie smiled.

"Do you think you can love him?"

Rebecca flushed furiously. "Um . . . I think I kind of already do. A little. It's, again, complicated. But I feel . . . really close to him. It's crazy and irrational, but yeah . . . I think I kind of love him."

Elena shook her head, but Bonnie just kept looking at Rebecca. Looking suspiciously, like she'd never seen Rebecca before.

"What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

Rebecca averted her eyes. "What d'you mean?"

"You know . . . You're different. You've had to have noticed."

Elena nodded her agreement.

"It's hard to explain," Rebecca dodged. "I mean, I know I dropped out of my activities and all, but that's just . . . They weren't for me anymore. I'm just changing, that's all. Damon is a part of it. I mean, he's in my life. But for the most part . . . it's me."

She wished she could explain to them why she was changing but she couldn't; not yet.  
\----------  
"Hey, I have to pick up a few things at the bank for the Founder's party," Elena said. "Do you guys want to come with me or should I drop you off first?"

All three of them had the dress they wanted. Rebecca had nothing else planned for that night so she agreed to go. She didn't spend nearly enough time lately with Elena and Bonnie, so she was glad she was able to do this.

Rebecca had had the week off because Diana thought Rebecca was still hurt. She played it up a little so she'd have more time off. Every time she fought she could get hurt or worse so avoiding fighting seemed to be the smart thing to do. Actually, she thought, staying away from vampires altogether would be the smart thing to do, but . . .

"What're you getting?" Bonnie asked.

"A few family heirlooms. No big deal."

It started sprinkling then and Rebecca groaned. She didn't like being in a car when it was raining; some people drove like morons and were dangerous. The sky was starting to darken a little, too. Maybe it was going to storm. Then something occurred to her that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Bonnie, who are you going with?"

"Caroline."

Elena, Bonnie and Rebecca went into the bank together and Rebecca looked through a few items from a safe deposit box. Elena didn't mind; she, Rebecca and Bonnie were like sisters. It was mostly just jewelry, but there was also an old pocket watch. Only . . . It wasn't a pocket watch. Rebecca recognized it as the compass from 1864. Jonathan Gilbert's compass had been turned into a pocket watch?

As the three girls walked back out to Elena's car a clap of thunder filled the air. Rebecca actually jumped a little; then she laughed at herself. Jeeze, she needed to chill.

"Someone's jumpy," Elena teased. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing . . . Or, I don't know. Maybe something, I just don't know what."

"Okay then . . ."

Neither Bonnie nor Elena said anything about her vague answer, but Elena did ask her to come over the day of the party to get ready.

"Oh, uh . . . Yeah. I've got to make sure my dad isn't planning on me going with him, but other than that, sure."

"Cool."

When Elena dropped Rebecca off Rebecca noticed that the lights were off on her street. Great. As soon as she stepped in the house she heard Chelsea crying - screaming, really - and saw Tina standing up and swaying back and forth. Chelsea didn't like storms.

Robert was drinking again, but he didn't seem to be drunk.

"Hey," Rebecca said and went to Chelsea.

Her sister was teething now and had been in a fussy mood for a few days. Rebecca had gotten her some baby Tylenol for the fever that came with it. Chelsea had a chew toy too but mostly she just chewed on her own fist.

"Elena wants me to come over on Friday to get ready with her. If you don't want me to go with you, I'd very much like to go over there."

"Do what you want," her father mumbled. "It's not like you're really here anyway. I never see you anymore. Coming and going as you please."

"Dad, don't start, okay? I have a life outside of this house, outside of this family. I can't stay here all the time."

"Then how about any time. I never know where you are, I don't know what you're doing. There was blood on your sheets the other night. You tried to wash it, but the stain was still there."

Oh, God. Rebecca closed her eyes. She thought she'd been careful, but apparently she hadn't been. Why hadn't Robert said anything before now? Had he been waiting for her to come to him?

"I got hurt and I came home and laid down. It wasn't that bad and I'm not hurt anymore. I didn't want to worry you guys."

Robert was still angry, but he seemed kind of hurt and shocked too. Tina didn't seem to know what Robert had been talking about so Rebecca assumed that meant he hadn't told her.

"Well, how did you get hurt?" her dad asked.

"Uh, a few friends and I were playing around and I hit my shoulder on something. It cut into it but I'm fine now. I promise."

"Why didn't you come to me?" he asked.

Rebecca's throat tightened and her eyes began to sting.

"Because I didn't know I could," she whispered thickly. She was finding it hard to talk. "You're always at work and when you're not . . . You're always drinking. It's you that's never here, not me." She wasn't just talking physically. She felt better since she'd said those words out loud.

"And we fight all the time," she said, her voice beginning to crack.

Robert looked like he knew that and he didn't say anything to defend himself.

"I didn't know it bothered you, you never say anything, and you never let me in. How am I supposed to know when you need me?"

"Because I'm your daughter!" Rebecca yelled and it made Chelsea, who was now in her arms, start crying again. "You're automatically supposed to sense these things! If you paid any attention to me at all you would've noticed the way I've been acting . . . How different I am."

"If I had asked, would you have told me?" Robert asked, and the anger deflated from Rebecca's body.

"No, probably not. I just . . . wanted you to notice, that's all."  
\----------  
Once in her room Rebecca called Damon mostly because she wanted to hear his voice, but also because she needed to tell him about the compass/pocket watch thing.

Chelsea was still whining, but now that Rebecca had calmed down so had she.

"What?" was the 'hello' she got from Damon when he answered.

"What? That's kind of rude, don't you think?"

"And?"

She sighed. "Nothing, never mind. I called to tell you to be careful. I went to the bank with Elena today - she had to get a few things from a safe deposit box for the Founder's party; a heritage thing or something. Anyway, one of those things was the compass from 1864 - the one Jonathan Gilbert made."

"Well, I can go get it, problem solved," Damon said.

"No, you can't just take it from her house. She'll notice that it's gone. Wait until the party. Other people will be there, so the list of people who could take it will be longer. I'm pretty sure you can swipe it without anybody seeing."

There was a slight pause and then Damon said, "Did you really call just to warn me?"

Rebecca shrugged even though he couldn't see. "You have my back, I have yours. That's what friends do. You . . . do know what it's like to have a friend?"

"To be honest I had forgotten."

That's so sad, Rebecca thought, feeling her chest tighten.

"Well, I've been told I'm a very good friend. I'll help steer you around the curves."

"Friendships are curvy?" Damon seemed amused now.

"Metaphorical curves." She smiled a little. "I just meant that I can help you with the friendship thing, if you want me to. It's gotta be lonely and no one should be completely alone. So . . . How about it? Friends?"

Rebecca could imagine the cogs turning in Damon's head. He was probably wondering if she was being serious. She knew how he thought. He was probably wondering how someone like her could happen to someone like him.

"We can try," he said softly. "I'm probably not a good friend for you, though."

What, was he Edward Cullen all of a sudden? She hoped not, because Edward was boring and stuffy.

"I think I should be the one to decide that, don't you?" she asked gently.

"Just . . . thought I'd warn you."

"Well, thank you." She smiled again. "We were best friends once. We can get there again, if you'll let us. Okay?"

"Mm-hm."

"Okay. Now, Friday I'm gonna be at Elena's so . . . Did you want to pick me up there or did you want to just meet me at the party?"

"I'll pick you up there."

"Cool. Well . . . Um, see you then, I guess."

"Uh-huh."  
\----------  
Friday evening Rebecca found herself at Elena's. She'd brought her shampoo and soap and stuff so she could shower and get ready. Her dress was still in the bag she'd bought it in.

Right now she was in the kitchen with Bonnie and Elena; Jenna and Jeremy were upstairs - Jeremy wasn't going, but Jenna was. Bonnie, Elena and Rebecca were picking out their makeup; Rebecca was going with shimmery eye-shadow and a nude lip gloss - simple yet pretty. Rebecca hated excessive makeup. Some people could pull it off, she guessed, but she wasn't one of them.

Tyler showed up to pick up the stuff for the Founder's party, but other than that there were no interruptions.

"Delicate Flower versus Naughty Vixen," Bonnie said, holding up two different nail polishes.

"Tough call. Can we mix them?" Elena asked.

"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date. You seem happy-ish."

"I am-ish," Elena agreed. Elena had asked Stefan to go and he'd agreed without a problem. "Tonight's gonna be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door."

"What if I tell you in the morning?" Bonnie asked, not making eye contact. "I don't wanna ruin the night."

"Are you moving?" Rebecca asked. "Or sick?"

Bonnie looked her way with wide eyes. "No."

"Then you won't ruin the night."

"Okay, but it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed."

"Uh-huh."

Rebecca sat up straighter. What had Damon been telling Caroline? Obviously it was bad or Bonnie would have been okay to talk about it.

"Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back-story. Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?"

"I know they both dated her and that's why they have issues," Elena said, paying close attention.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine, he filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked and she turned against Damon."

"That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's," Elena said.

"I just wanted you to know," Bonnie said.

"Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business."

"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business."

"Katherine was the calculating, manipulative liar," Rebecca blurted out.

"What?" both Bonnie and Elena asked.

"Uh . . ." Rebecca bit her lip. "Which nail pol -"

"Uh-uh," Elena interrupted. "What d'you know?"

Rebecca grimaced. "Look, I don't really know Stefan, okay? But I do know the story behind Katherine. Just don't tell anyone I told you, okay?"

Both Bonnie and Elena sealed their lips and threw away the invisible keys.

"Okay. Katherine was a bitch, first and foremost. She only cared about herself. She played Damon and Stefan against each other. She used their emotions against them; she made them think they loved her. Um . . . The rest of the story is not mine to tell, but, long story short, Stefan accidentally hurt someone Damon cared very much about. Damon stopped trusting Stefan after that. One of the worst things to do is betray someone and in Damon's eyes . . . that's what Stefan did."

"But . . . If it was an accident," Bonnie started, "shouldn't he just get over it?"

"You'd think," Rebecca said. Especially after 145 years.

"Wait, how'd you know?" Elena asked. "Something tells me Damon didn't tell you."

"Uh . . . Damon can be open when he wants to be." Which was true when he'd been human, so she wasn't lying . . . Technically. "I know the story. When it comes to Katherine neither brother is the bad guy. They were the victims in that."  
\----------  
Around six Mrs. Lockwood called because the Gilbert pocket watch was missing from the collection of things Tyler had picked up. Jeremy had taken it; it was supposed to have gone to him anyway. He and Elena argued about it but, in the end, Jeremy got to keep it.

It was a little after that when Rebecca was putting the finishing touches on her hair - she was letting it fall in ringlets; it still reached her waist - that Elena called up the stairs, "Damon's here, Becca."

"Coming," she called back.

She put her silver ballet flats on - she had them in almost every color - and made her way downstairs. Damon was waiting at the bottom - he was in his usual black, only now it was formalwear. She smiled when he just stopped and stared, and she felt heat fill her cheeks.

"Hello, Damon."

When she reached the bottom he held out his arm for her to grab and she looped hers around it.

"You look stunning," he said in her ear.

"You clean up nice yourself," she replied.

Bonnie and Elena looked at them, amused.

"Oh yeah, you're just friends," Elena teased.

"Obviously," Bonnie added, smiling a little.

"Shush," Rebecca told them. "No more teasing."

She looked at Damon and nodded at the door. "You ready?"

"Sure."

"Kay. Uh, see you guys there."

Outside, Damon opened the car door for her and she slipped inside, tucking her dress underneath her. She was . . . a little excited and she hoped the night would be good. Or at least not a complete disaster. She knew something would go wrong; it was inevitable. She wasn't pessimistic, just realistic.

When Damon got in the driver's seat she began speaking. "Jeremy has the compass. He took it and Elena didn't have the heart to take it from him. It does belong to him. And he doesn't know what it's for, so you should be safe. Uh, I'll keep an eye out, though, just in case."

"Hm." Damon's face remained expressionless. "We have bigger problems. Someone is growing vervain, somewhere. Uh, Elena's necklace; Stefan tried to dose me with some."

Rebecca scoffed. "You two are so dysfunctional." She sighed. "I don't know where he's getting it. Uh . . . I know Sheila had some to give to me, but I don't know where she got hers either. But, as always, I'll help. All you have to do is ask."

Damon looked her way slowly and he narrowed his eyes. He was, again, probably wondering if she were being serious.

"Just like that?"

She smiled. "Yes. Friends, remember?" She bit her lip as she was prone to do. "I know you're not used to that anymore and it's going to take you a while to trust me again, but you did trust me once and what I told you before still stands. I won't ever deliberately hurt you. I still care about you even though you're different. It doesn't change anything for me, Damon."

Damon had stopped breathing for a second. She'd made him speechless; she had a tendency to do that because she was always honest when she spoke to him. He fought off the sudden wave of emotion her words had brought up; even though he had complete control now, emotions made him feel out of control. They still led to hunger - thirst - because every emotion he felt was heightened. He'd not felt anything real since Rebecca had disappeared 145 years ago, and he was experiencing everything like it was the first time. It threw him a little, and he didn't like it.

The only other thing to do was to keep Rebecca out of his life, but that wasn't even an option. He'd waited 145 years, so to keep her out would defeat the purpose of why he'd survived to get to her again.

"So . . ." Changing the subject. "What're the Lockwood's like?"

"Ugh!" Rebecca's lip curled in disgust. "I can't stand any of them. Mrs. Lockwood is a bitch, Mr. Lockwood is a bastard, and Tyler is a dick. Though, with parents like his, how could he be any different?"

Damon almost laughed. He had never heard her be so negative about anyone. These Lockwood's must be terrible.

"Such language. It's not proper etiquette for a lady," he teased.

"Never claimed to be one," she admitted.

He felt her looking at him even though he was looking at the road.

"What?"

"If I ask you something, do you promise to give me an honest answer?"

"Depends what you ask." He smirked. "And that was an honest answer."

"Okay, well . . . What're you doing? With Stefan and Elena? He's a calculating, manipulative liar? Are . . . you trying to break them up?" Her heart sped up a little; Damon heard it. "Because if you are, I kind of ruined that plan. I told her the truth about Katherine; some of it, anyway. That she played you guys against each other. I wasn't gonna, but then I just sort of blurted it out."

"Well, that's . . . inconvenient," he muttered. He couldn't bring himself to be angry, though, not with her. He knew she was an honest individual. He guessed if he needed her to back him up with a lie then he should probably warn her first. Let her in, a little. She probably couldn't lie at the drop of a hat; not like he could.

Of course he'd had time to perfect his poker face. Then again Rebecca had worked her way into the Council in 1864 and she'd done it artfully. So there was a hidden devil under the angel exterior.

"Uh . . . Inconvenient?" Rebecca brought him out of his thoughts.

"I wanna make Stefan miserable." He shrugged; he hated his brother, Rebecca knew that, so what was the big deal?

"Yeah, but you're putting Elena in the middle of it and now she's gonna be miserable. She doesn't deserve that. Now, I know I can't tell you what to do, but please think before you try and get between them again. I mean, Elena's my friend, too, and I don't wanna have to choose between you two."

"Because it'll be her?" He should've known. No one ever put him first.

"No, it would probably be you. But I would resent you for making me choose."

She slid a little closer and Damon tightened his hands on the wheel so he wouldn't do anything stupid like put his arm around her.

"I remember how you were, how you can be, so I can be patient. I mean, it's buried deep but it's still there. You may not want to acknowledge it but it is. I can wait. But the moment I see it, you'll be the first to know."

He heard her chuckle uncomfortably. "Okay, enough of this caring and sharing stuff. Are you gonna dance with me tonight?"

He looked at her briefly and smiled. "I would never turn down a dance from the most beautiful woman there."

Her eyes sparkled with happiness but she still said, "You are full of it, but . . . The compliments are nice." Her eyes dimmed a little. "My dad's gonna be there. Uh, he's probably gonna wanna talk to you. And he's not as fun-loving as my aunt, so can you at least try to be serious?"

"I do know how to behave, Rebecca." He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You worry too much. I can get along with anybody when I want to."

"Yeah, when you want to," Rebecca muttered grumpily.

"It would not be in my best interest to antagonize your father. He could make your life very difficult, socially speaking. And I happen to like spending time with you, so I'll behave, okay?"

"Thank you," she said simply but sincerely.

He still wasn't used to anyone being grateful to him for anything. Granted, he usually didn't do anything to get thanked for. He usually just ate and left. Occasionally he would spend the night, sleep with the girl if she interested him in any way, but he still left first thing in the morning.

He'd never spent the night just holding a girl - not since 1864 anyway - that was for sure. He'd never felt the need to comfort them either; that was strictly a Rebecca thing, he guessed. He hadn't . . . hated it exactly - the comforting thing - but he wasn't used to it and it wasn't easy for him. Actually, like most men, he wanted to flee at the first sign of a sobbing woman, but the conflicting emotion of also wanting Rebecca to feel better had made him stay that one night.

Emotions suck, Damon thought. They're so confusing; no wonder I shut them off.


	18. Chapter Fourteen

When Rebecca and Damon arrived at the party Damon gave his keys to a young valet and got a number thing so he would be able to give it to the guy to get the car back.

Rebecca grabbed onto his arm and leaned in close. "Can you even get in?" she whispered. "It's a public party but not a public place."

"Still need an invite."

"Hm. Okay then."

They joined the line of people waiting to be let in. Luckily Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood were greeting people as they walked in. Tyler was standing there with his parents but then he started making his way down the steps to Vicki Donovan so she wouldn't have to go past his parents.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Uh, what a dick," she muttered.

Tyler was letting his fear of his parents get in the way. He actually probably felt something for Vicki but he wouldn't act on it because of what his parents thought; he was probably miserable. She should probably cut him some slack.

Mayor Lockwood wasn't half as bad about being snooty as Carol Lockwood was, but, on the other hand, Mrs. Lockwood wasn't half as moody as Mayor Lockwood. And Tyler was caught between a semi-abusive father and a stuck up mother. Sometimes it made him treat Vicki like he was beneath him just because of his parents. But Vicki put up with it, so it was partly her fault.

When Rebecca and Damon got to the front of the line Mayor Lockwood smiled as did Mrs. Lockwood. Rebecca they had no problem with. She was not a drug user and she didn't sleep around.

"Hello, Rebecca. We haven't seen you around here for a while," Mrs. Lockwood said. "Last year, wasn't it?"

When Carol used to watch Chelsea for Rebecca Carol had always picked her up from Rebecca's house, so that statement was valid.

"Yes. Uh . . ." She shook her head. "This is Damon. He's, uh . . . new -" sort of "- to town, and I invited him to come."

"Oh, well, welcome to Mystic Falls, Damon," Mayor Lockwood said. "Come on in, have a good time."

"Thank you," Rebecca said. "We will."

She and Damon walked in and Damon went straight to the bar. Rebecca was amused.

"Can you even . . . get drunk?"

"Uh . . . It takes a lot. I've built up a killer tolerance. Do you want something?"

"A little too early for me, Damon. Maybe later."

Damon got bourbon and he drank it slowly. Rebecca pointed out people as they showed up. Damon didn't tell her to shut up, so she assumed he didn't mind.

"Uh, Jenna - Elena's aunt on her mom's side. Logan Fell - annoying idiot from what I remember. You already know Bonnie. Uh . . . Caroline blabs about everything you tell her."

Damon smirked. "Why do you think I tell her?"

"Right. Moving on. Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom. If you fall into her good graces, you get to know her as Liz. Um . . . She's married to her job, her and Caroline don't get along. I think Caroline blames her for her parent's divorce."

"Divorce?"

"Gay husband."

Damon's eyes widened comically. "Huh. And did he have those tendencies before they were married?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure they were caused because of the marriage. I don't know who I feel sorrier for, Liz or her husband." Rebecca shrugged; she'd never really thought about it much before. "Anyway, Caroline's dad is never around and since Liz is always at work . . . Caroline tries to get attention wherever and however she can get it."

Then Stefan and Elena walked in and Rebecca smiled softly. "And there's your favorite person in the world."

Damon narrowed his eyes playfully. "Which world are you living in?"

"My brain fantasy bubble. The real world sucks too much."

He let out a little breath of laughter. "You noticed that too, huh?"

"Come on," Rebecca said, sort of ignoring the question. "Let's go . . . look around."

"One thing first," Damon requested. "What did Mrs. Lockwood mean when she said she hadn't seen you around here for a while?"

Rebecca grimaced. "I went on a couple dates with Tyler last year. They were never serious. He was . . . grabby and aggressive."

She had never told human Damon about her two boyfriends because she wasn't sure that had been okay back then. Weren't women courted and married off pretty quickly back then?

She turned to walk away quickly and said, "Okay, let's go."

Before she could even take two steps Damon had grabbed her wrist to stop her from going anywhere. He turned her back around.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked, murderous intent in his eyes.

Rebecca shook her head, but she didn't look at him. Damon tilted her face up so he could see into her eyes. If she hadn't had her necklace on, she would've thought he was trying to compel her.

"Are you lying?" he asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, Damon. He just showed me that he wasn't what I wanted. He's just . . . a hormonal teenager. He wanted to . . . ya know . . . and I said no and that was it. I never went out with him again. I've told you already that the physical stuff isn't the only thing I want, so . . ."

They began walking toward the room with all the heritage stuff in it. Rebecca didn't really care about it, but . . . The music hadn't started yet so there wasn't much else to do.

"What would you have done if he had?" Rebecca asked, thinking she already knew the answer and she wasn't too happy with it.

Damon locked eyes with her. "I would've killed him."

Rebecca's heart stopped for a second and Damon blinked and looked down at her chest; he'd obviously heard it.

The way he'd said that statement - so simply, like it didn't matter at all - made her uneasy.

"Does that scare you?" Damon asked. "Because it should."

"It . . . makes me nervous," she admitted. "And a little scared, for you. Tyler is the Mayor's son; if he happened to turn up missing . . . Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"I do. But if he had hurt you like that, nothing would've saved him from me."  
\----------  
Damon watched the emotions play across Rebecca's face. He saw that none of the fear and nervousness was directed towards herself; she obviously knew he wasn't going to hurt her. He was sure she was just trying to accept the fact that he could kill so easily now. But the way he saw it, if anyone hurt Rebecca they deserved whatever they got.

When he and Rebecca got to the room with all the historical stuff in it he almost turned them back around because Stefan and Elena were there. Stefan was like a bad penny, he showed up everywhere, and usually sucked the fun out of the room when he did. Now Elena . . . Damon didn't have a problem with Elena - she wasn't Katherine even if she did look like her - but she was the person Stefan cared about. It was so easy to bother his brother with Elena.

You wouldn't want anyone to use Rebecca to get to you, his previously buried conscience whispered.

Oh, shut it, he told himself. Turn off, or mute yourself.

Maybe he was going crazy . . . He was fairly certain people weren't supposed to have conversations with themselves. Elena and Stefan were looking at the original guest registry and Elena had commented on the names Stefan and Damon Salvatore . . . And his idiot brother couldn't even say anything.

Damon rolled his eyes and led Rebecca to the other couple. Maybe he could help . . . For his own purposes, of course.

"The original Salvatore brothers," he said. "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."

Stefan looked toward him and Rebecca. Stefan immediately became guarded and closed off. Damon understood that; he usually had the same reaction when Stefan suddenly appeared.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past."

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena said.

"Yeah," Rebecca said. "Let's hear about your family. What happened to them?"

There was a hint of mischief in her eyes, and Damon smirked. Damon knew the reason she was doing this was because she didn't agree with Stefan lying to Elena all the time, but it was still funny. Damon also knew the reason Rebecca had to keep lying was because of Stefan and him. She couldn't really out herself without outing them in the process.

"Wasn't there something about the war and a battle and -"

"Becca," Elena admonished. "Stop."

Rebecca held her hands up. "Backing away with my hands in the air. But he should tell you."

Damon watched as Rebecca and Stefan had a staring contest. Rebecca won because Stefan lowered his eyes. He obviously knew Rebecca was telling the truth.

"Well, allow me," Damon said. "Feel free to add anything you like, Stef."

Elena kept looking between Stefan and Rebecca; she could probably feel the invisible line that was between them.

"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town until the war. There was a battle here -"

"The Battle of Willow Creek," Elena interrupted. "I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

"I didn't know you paid attention in history class," Rebecca said. "I didn't know you paid attention to Tanner, period."

Elena shrugged. "It's been known to happen. He asked us how many people had been killed."

"I . . . never really paid attention," Rebecca admitted. "Anyway, continue. Civilians . . ."

Damon heard Rebecca's heart rate speed up. She knew this part; she'd been there.

"The people that were there were believed to be Union sympathizers, so some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive."

Stefan, Damon, Elena and Rebecca moved to a small figurine of Fells Church, where the vampires had been taken to be burned.

"Yeah, they were a lovable bunch," Rebecca muttered in response to Damon's explanation. It was low enough for only Stefan and Damon to hear clearly. Damon remembered how she'd been so willing to help him even though he'd been making her miserable. He also remembered that she hadn't agreed with the plot to get rid of all the vampires. Burning them had been a little too gruesome for her.

"Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church."

"Damon," Stefan interrupted, looking at Rebecca. "That's enough."

"No, what happened?" Elena asked.

"It doesn't matter; it was a long time ago."

"They tried to help," Rebecca said softly. "And they were killed. Their own father shot them."

Damon looked at Rebecca and forgot all about his plan to mess with Stefan for the moment. He'd had no idea that still affected her so deeply. Of course, it had only been a few short weeks since all that had happened for her, it was still fresh in her mind. She'd had to watch him die; it was obviously hard for her to talk about.

"How do you know all this?" Elena suddenly asked. He knew the question was directed at Rebecca, but she seemed unable to say anything at the moment. She was biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

"I've told her a lot about my family," he said. "Stefan's the one who acts like it never happened."

He grabbed Rebecca's hand. "Excuse us."  
\----------  
Rebecca followed Damon out because she really didn't want to be in that room anymore. She'd been fine until Damon had brought that up; she didn't like talking about Damon dying because she remembered how it had felt when she hadn't thought he would come back.

She took a deep breath and tried to soothe away the sudden ache that had filled her chest. She hadn't liked being reminded of that fateful day; in fact, she downright hated it. She was not happy with Damon for bringing it up.

She walked outside and suddenly she realized she was leading now. When had that happened? Damon was still by her side, but he was letting her decide where to go.

There was a small wooded path and she wanted the illusion of aloneness so that was where she went. As soon as she was deep enough in she started talking.

"I'm sorry. I don't . . . I shouldn't have reacted like that. It's just . . . not one of our best moments, ya know?" She stopped walking. "Watching you with Katherine all the time was hard, but it was nothing compared to what I felt when I saw you die."

Damon tilted his head just so and looked at her, interested.

"When I heard the first shot my heart stopped. And then when I saw you it was much worse. It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest it hurt so badly. So, no, it's not something I like to think about. That was . . . the worst night of my life. The only thing that could've made it worse was if I had lost you for real."

She wiped away the tears that fell and was glad she hadn't worn any mascara.

After a few more deep breaths she was okay, but she realized Damon wasn't talking. Had she . . . said something wrong? Though, maybe, it was just him; whenever she said something like that to him he usually never said anything back. He couldn't find the words, maybe?

"Um . . . I'm good now. I said more than I should have, but that's just me, ya know? So now we can . . . go . . ."

She trailed off because Damon had cupped her face with his hands. He was looking at her with the softest expression. She had obviously touched the human part of him with what she'd said.

"We can go back to being just friends tomorrow," he said. "But right now there's one thing I have to do."

He leaned down a little, giving her time to back away but she didn't. When his lips touched hers she was pleased to find that he kissed her the same as he had when he'd been human. It was still soft and sweet and tender, and it still felt wonderful.

Her stomach filled with butterflies and she wrapped her arms around his neck; his arms found their way around her waist. He had pulled her body to his, not that she minded, and she was suddenly having a hard time remembering how to breathe. It was a very interesting effect he had on her.

Her heart stuttered a little and he pulled away. She saw his eyes were wickedly amused.

"Heart gives me away, huh?"

"Just a little bit," he said.

She felt his breath on her lips and she trembled. She kissed him once more and then just enjoyed their embrace. She could hear Damon grinding his teeth for some reason. He wasn't . . . losing control, was he?

"When's the last time you fed?" she whispered.

"Earlier."

"Hm . . . Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" She looked up at him. "Really?"

His eyes had yet to turn red, but she could see the beginning's of veins coming on. They were very light but still noticeable.

"It's me, isn't it?" She caressed his cheek gently and felt a little guilty. "I make you feel out of control."

"No. You just make me feel."

Her breath hitched at the raw honesty in his voice. One of the real things he'd said since she'd been back.

"Um . . . Sorry?" she asked, laughing. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that."

Once Damon's face was normal again he grabbed her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers softly and she melted on the spot. When she saw the devilish glint in his eyes she knew he'd done it on purpose. He knew he had that effect on her and he was using it against her.

God, I am so screwed, she thought.

He had so much power over her and it had nothing to do with mind compulsion; he just had her hooked, period, because of who he could be if he let himself. Like this moment they'd just had. She would cherish it until the next one came along.

"You are going to make my life very difficult," he said softly. "I see that now."

He wasn't being mean when he said it; Rebecca thought he only said it because it was true.

"Oh." She pretended to start to leave and, "Well, I can go and then -"

"Uh-uh." He pulled her back. "You're not goin' anywhere."

Her back hit his chest firmly when he pulled her to him and she laughed a little when his arms came back around her possessively.

"Come on, you," she said. "You promised to dance with me."  
\----------  
Damon loved watching Rebecca when she was dancing. During one song he'd surprised her by dipping her and she'd automatically wrapped a leg around him to balance herself. Her emerald eyes had sparkled when he'd brought her back up and she'd grabbed onto his arms.

"Warn me next time," she whispered.

"The look on your face wouldn't have been as funny if I had warned you."

"Not funny."

Once the song was over, she took a few breaths. Damon saw that Rebecca's face and neck were flushed from exertion.

"Need a break?"

"Yup. I don't have endless stamina."

Rebecca looked around and saw that Stefan was talking with Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline. She was just going to go say hi and get a drink.

"What'd we miss?" Damon asked.

"Just . . . Chatting," Stefan said, holding up a glass of champagne. "Drink, Damon?"

"No thanks, I'll pass."

Hm . . . Maybe . . . She could try something.

"I'll take it," Rebecca said.

Stefan smiled softly and Rebecca reached for the glass. She very deliberately hit his hand and a few drops spilled over the top of the glass and hit his skin. The champagne glass began to slip and Rebecca grabbed it; Stefan yanked his hand back. There had been a slight hiss when the liquid had touched him. Vervain.

Elena and Bonnie watched Stefan's reaction with interest; Rebecca put the glass down on a nearby table and then crossed her arms defiantly. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out and go ha!; Damon's demeanor had changed as soon as Stefan had spoken. His shoulders had tensed and his eyes had turned cold, but seeing Rebecca do that had helped him relax a little.

"Stefan, what happened?" Elena asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, uh . . . Just got some drink on my hand."

Rebecca figured she'd done her job and she did want something to drink so she walked away to search for something other than vervain laced champagne.

"That was a slick move back there. Maybe there's something naughty in you after all," Damon teased; now that they weren't near Stefan he seemed to be himself again.

He'd followed her, but she'd known he would.

"That was not me being naughty. I warned him before that I take care of what's mine. And I don't take it lightly when someone threatens someone I care about. Why's he trying to poison you, anyway?"

"Caroline. He told me she doesn't exist for me feed on whenever I want to."

Rebecca stopped walking and turned around. "Is he for real? How quickly he forgets what he was."

Damon really looked at her - he was examining her expression. "This is really pissing you off, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. I mean I just think it's very hypocritical of him to think he can judge you at all when he was way worse. Someone should remind him."

"Good idea. Why don't you do it? He might actually care if you say it."

"Well, no, I don't intentionally hurt people for no reason. Tonight was just a reminder of whose side I'm on. I mean, I was there. You know? Stefan can act as high and mighty as he wants to around Elena because she doesn't know what he was like, or anything about it, really. But I was there and I know who the better brother is. Who the better man is. I mean, seriously, you don't learn that type of darkness; it's ingrained somewhere somehow. I bet if he'd stayed human he'd have pulled a Dahmer or something and you'd have found ass in the fridge one day."

Rebecca watched as Damon processed that information and was surprised when he lowered his head. He wouldn't meet her eyes now. She'd expected a few chuckles at least, because that had been funny.

"Damon?"

"Becca -" he mimicked, and then took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I need to explain something to you. I'm what they call the bad guy."

"But that's not all there is to you, Damon. You're different when you're with me. You're not bad all the time . . . You just have vampire urges." She'd whispered the V word, considering where they were. "But that's normal because you are one."

She was sure it was okay to have different rules for vampires than for humans since humans weren't as volatile. Yes, they had a snapping point, but . . . they didn't snap as easily.

"And the way you are with me has nothing to do with how you are with everyone else. You're good with me."

"Hm."

Rebecca grabbed a glass of white wine off of a waiter's tray and sipped. She was slightly breathless from speaking so passionately about that. If there was one thing she hated it was people being hypocritical; and the thing was, she didn't know if Stefan even knew he was doing it. And if he did, then she knew it was because he was trying to warn Elena about Damon without really telling her their secret, but still . . . The point was the same. Stefan wasn't completely innocent in this; he shouldn't push the blame on Damon just to get the attention off of himself.

"If you hadn't met me when I was human -" he whispered dramatically "- would you have still liked me?"

Rebecca smiled a little at the subject change. "Definitely. You . . . Uh . . . How do I put this? You are different from everyone else; I've never met anyone like you. I mean, sure, when we first met you infuriated me with all the disappearing without a word, but yeah . . . I would've liked you once I got to know you. It probably would've just taken longer."

She smiled up at him. "You know . . . Stefan told me you weren't as bad this time around. So when he does what he does . . . He's just looking out for Elena. You'd do the same for me."

Damon looked at her like she was nuts. She had just gone from bad mouthing his brother to defending him. Sometimes even she didn't understand the way her mind worked.  
\----------  
Damon was caught between being confused at her sudden train of thought and wondering if Stefan had really said that. Though Rebecca had no reason to lie and he probably would've caught her in a fib anyway.

"How is that anyway?" she asked. "Do you still remember everything from before?"

"Before . . . you?" Damon waited for her confirmation. "No. It's like I know I had those memories, they're just not there anymore. Now all I remember are the things that happened with you, but yes, I think I was probably much worse before."

"Because you were evil?"

Damon loved how Rebecca could ask questions like that and not have any judgment in her voice. Mostly all he heard was curiosity. Like she honestly cared about him and honestly wanted to know so she could understand him better. And she did, he knew she did, which was why he kept reminding himself not to take advantage of her kindness.

"Because I was unhappy," he admitted softly. "And I wanted everyone else to be unhappy with me. Misery loves company and all that. I was selfish; I still am."

Rebecca didn't say anything to that. Her eyes widened a little, though, and she handed him her drink. She gestured off to the side and he saw her dad coming toward them.

Whoops, time to be good behavior Damon, he thought. Not that he'd been misbehaving anyway.

When he took in Robert he saw that the man actually looked sober. Not happy, but sober. Her dad stopped in front of them. Robert was taking him in - probably wondering if he was good enough for Rebecca.

"Rebecca, who's your date?" Robert asked.

"Uh . . . Damon Salvatore. Damon, this is my dad."

Damon shook Robert's hand and fought the urge to crush it; he knew how Robert treated Rebecca and he didn't like it.

"Salvatore? You're related to Zach?"

"Zach's my uncle." Well, technically Zach was his nephew but the town thought otherwise.

"Hm. Are you the same Damon that dropped Rebecca off the night Vicki Donovan was attacked?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself that night, but it was late and Rebecca was upset. It wasn't the right time."

"How did you two meet?"

"At the Grill. She literally ran into me." Or I made her run into me, he added silently.

"Love at first crash, huh?" Robert asked, part cynical and part teasing.

Damon smiled when Rebecca groaned. "Dad!"

Then Damon noticed something was off with the two - an awkward sort of tension. Both Robert and Rebecca were trying to act normally, but their eyes were careful. What had happened there?

"I saw you dancing earlier," Robert said to Rebecca. "You looked great out there."

Rebecca looked at Damon. "It's all in the leading."

Damon grinned like an idiot - or that's what he felt like anyway. "Don't be modest. You're a terrific dancer."

Damon still wasn't used to the carefree happiness being around Rebecca brought him. He could be open - sort of - with her without any fear of judgment or persecution, without the fear of rejection.

He had never put much stock in the whole 'talking things over makes you feel better' garbage, but it did help. At least he had someone to talk to now. And he'd rather tell Rebecca the truth than lead her to believe he was something he wasn't. Not like Stefan was doing with Elena. What was up with that, anyway? Elena would find out eventually and she would realize all Stefan had been doing was lying the whole time.

And why do I care? Damon asked himself. Oh yeah, because Rebecca has opened up something inside me that's been shut since the last time I saw her.

Damn it.  
\----------  
Later that night, after Rebecca had put up with her dad with Damon, Rebecca hung out with Elena and Bonnie. Caroline still wasn't really talking to her. Elena had gotten into a fight with Stefan because he was being secretive again. He wasn't willing to talk about himself at all.

"It's my fault," Bonnie said. "I planted doubt; I'm a doubt planter."

"It's not your fault," Rebecca said. "Stefan's just . . . guarded."

"I got all snooty," Elena said, pouting. "I just . . . I want to know him, ya know? But he won't let me in. I just . . . It's hard to get close to him when he won't open up."

Rebecca touched Elena's arm. "Well, tell him that. Give him an ultimatum. He talks to you or he can't have you."

"I don't want him to not have me."

Rebecca bit her lip. She didn't know what to do. She wanted Elena to know about Stefan so Rebecca, in turn, could tell her about herself. But she knew she couldn't really say anything without outing Damon, too, and she wouldn't do that. Plus, Stefan was Elena's boyfriend - he needed to be the one to tell her.

"Did you fight because of me and Damon?" Rebecca asked, guilt nagging at her. If she had caused problems for Elena then she needed to apologize. And after all her talking to Damon about getting between Elena and Stefan . . . She had helped that night and not because Damon had asked her to.

"No. It was just Stefan not wanting to talk. I got mad and . . . stormed away."

"Oh."

Rebecca was relieved; she knew she had acted rather overly earlier - not like herself at all. She didn't even know where that reaction had come from; she just hadn't liked the fact that Stefan had been threatening Damon. She'd become protective, which was ridiculous because Damon was a vampire and could take care of himself. He had been doing it for 145 years.

But it was that very reason that made her want to care for him. He must have been lonely and miserable and she wanted to change that for him. She didn't want him to be alone anymore - he didn't have to be. And she could make him happy if he let her.

Rebecca was pulled out of her thoughts when Mrs. Lockwood sat down and began talking.

"Elena, honey, I noticed the pocket watch still isn't in the collection."

"Oh." Elena had been taken by surprise. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed away in my parents stuff somewhere."

"I see." Mrs. Lockwood put on a fake smile and it made Rebecca irrationally angry. "Well, please let me know if you do find it."

"Okay."

Rebecca was relieved when she went away. She didn't know what was wrong. PMS, maybe?

"You look like you just sucked on a lemon," Bonnie said. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Rebecca said honestly. "I just . . . saw her and it pissed me off. I'm okay now."

"That's . . . weird," Elena said suspiciously. "Anyway, I have to go to the bathroom, so . . ."

"Yeah."

Bonnie and Rebecca sat there chatting for a few minutes until Bonnie sort of went into a trance-like state. Rebecca even snapped her fingers in front of her to try to wake her up, but nothing worked. Bonnie got up, began walking and Rebecca hesitantly followed her. They were going upstairs, though technically they weren't really allowed up there.

"Bonnie, we're gonna get in trouble."

Rebecca followed her, anyway, to a small room. There were more antiques up here; the ones that weren't important enough to be put on display.

Bonnie went directly to a desk that had a wooden box on it. She opened the box, found a hidden compartment and took out an old pendent thing, amber crystal with a gold-ish setting.

"Uh . . . Bonnie?"

"You can't let them out," she said, only it wasn't Bonnie, Rebecca didn't think. Yes, it was Bonnie's voice, but she wasn't talking like herself.

"Can't . . . what?" Rebecca grabbed the crystal when Bonnie handed it to her.

Then Bonnie came back to herself. She stumbled a little, but Rebecca caught her. Bonnie looked confused and when she spoke Rebecca could tell she was scared.

"Becca . . . What am I doing here? We were sitting down a second ago."

"You walked up here, Bonnie, but you were kind of out of it."

"I don't - I don't remember." Bonnie's eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled. "I don't remember coming up here."

"Hey." Rebecca pulled her in for a hug and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay. You're okay. Nothing bad happened. Okay?"

"No . . . I - I don't know. I've been . . ." Bonnie trailed off and Rebecca felt a few tears hit her bare shoulder.

"You've been what?"

Bonnie pulled away slightly. "I've been doing things . . . Weird, unexplainable things. And I haven't had anyone to talk to."

Rebecca could relate. She knew Bonnie must feel afraid and alone. Two emotions Rebecca was fairly familiar with.

"Bonnie, why don't you spend the night with me tonight? You can talk to me about anything. I won't judge or criticize or make fun, okay?"

Bonnie sniffled, but nodded anyway. "Yeah."

"Yeah? Okay. Then why don't we enjoy the rest of the party? I'll tell my dad that you're coming with us and you can catch a ride with him or Damon and me, 'kay?"

"Yeah." Bonnie smiled and hugged Rebecca briefly. "You know, this is the Rebecca we know and love. Welcome back."

Rebecca shrugged, confused. "I was never gone, Bonnie. I've just . . . Well, let's just say you're not the only one who's been going through something weird. And I'm . . . I wanna tell you; I just need to find the right way, okay?"

Bonnie nodded and they left the room.  
\----------  
Once downstairs Rebecca put the crystal in her purse; she hadn't mentioned it to Bonnie because Bonnie obviously didn't remember finding it but, since she had, Rebecca figured it was important.

It was in the middle of Rebecca asking her dad if Bonnie could stay with them that night that Elena came in, fuming. Uh-oh.

"Becca, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Um . . . Yeah." She looked at Bonnie. "You gonna be okay?"

Bonnie nodded, so Rebecca followed Elena.

"I need to ask you something about Damon," Elena said. "It's bad."

"O . . . kay," Rebecca said hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

Elena took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Has he . . . Uh . . . Is he hurting you?"

Rebecca laughed a little. Was Damon hurting her? That was absurd. She wouldn't have been here with him if he was hurting her. Rebecca understood Elena's question, though, because Rebecca had a . . . type. There had been Tyler and there had been Chase. Chase was the worst and he had hurt her and since she seemed to attract that type of man . . . She knew Elena was only worried that she was going to get stuck in the same rut.

"No. Why?"

"Because I saw Caroline in the bathroom a while ago and she has bruises everywhere. And bite marks. She's all . . . confused and messed up in the head."

Rebecca bit her lip and looked away. Damn it, what was she supposed to say? She felt like screaming, she was so frustrated.

"So if he's done anything to you or . . ."

"Damon hasn't hurt me," Rebecca said firmly, looking back up. "Um . . . If you just knew what was going on . . ."

"Well . . . I don't because nobody will tell me."

Rebecca groaned. "I want to tell you. But it's not my secret to tell. There are so many things I wanna talk to you about, Elena, but . . . You need to talk to Stefan first."

"I tried," Elena said. "All he said was that I needed to trust him." Elena looked at Rebecca. "What're you going to do about Damon? You can't just keep seeing him."

"I can't just stop seeing him, either," Rebecca countered.

"But he's hurting her. He's obviously dangerous, Becca."

"Look, Elena, there's . . . I don't know, okay. You can't just spring something like this on me and expect me to know what to do right away."

Elena looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "Not know what to do? You should stay away from him!"

"Well, where is Caroline right now? Did she say it was Damon who did it?" That was kind of sloppy, Damon letting her remember being bitten. Rebecca was aware she should have been more concerned for Caroline, but she was still alive so it couldn't be but so bad, right?

Besides, even Stefan had said Damon didn't kill needlessly this time around and Damon had no reason to kill Caroline; she was his food source. Not that he couldn't find another one whenever he wanted.

"She didn't say it was him, but I could tell it was by the way she reacted. And she went home; she was passed out by the pond outside."

Passed out? "Is she okay?"

"She was freaking out, shaking. I was planning on going over there later tonight. You and Bonnie can come."

"No. If . . . If what you say is true, I'm the last person Caroline wants to talk to about this."

"Right." Elena shook her head. "You're . . . acting strange. Ever since you met him you've been different."

"If you mean I've been happy, then yeah. Thanks for noticing. Anyway, I really gotta go. I don't wanna argue with you."  
\----------  
Later that night when Bonnie was asleep on the bed next to Rebecca, Rebecca began contemplating all the things that had happened since she'd come back from the past.

Damon had helped her a few times, so he didn't want her to die, at least, but she'd also noticed he didn't really care about anything else. Or, if he did, he had a weird way of showing it.

And the whole Caroline situation . . . Rebecca felt bad about it, she really did, but . . . She'd meant what she said about understanding that Damon had to feed to survive. Granted, if he was leaving bruises on Caroline he could be nicer about it, but he obviously wasn't as careful as he'd been when he'd bitten her.

Maybe she could . . . talk to him about it. Maybe she could either ask him to not be as sloppy or to find an alternate way of feeding. She would never ask him to give up human blood; that was his choice to make, but he could do it differently. Feed from more than one person, give each a time to heal before going back. Or . . . Blood bags. Human blood without the hurting of humans to get it.

God, she was . . . She was changing. She was different. Elena had been right. The old her wouldn't have condoned anyone getting hurt for any reason, even if it had been Damon doing it. She realized she was rearranging her life to fit his and, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure that was right. Because . . . Was it really her he was in love with or was it . . . someone she was pretending to be.

I'm not pretending, she told herself. I'm just not the same person I was.

That was true enough. So much had happened that her friends didn't know about and that was why they didn't understand her drastic changes. And besides, everyone let the people they loved get away with things they shouldn't.

Like . . . Taking them to a party and then leaving them there. But to be fair . . . Damon wasn't the only one to do it this time. Stefan had left Elena too. All this had happened after the Caroline incident, so Rebecca was sure they were just off somewhere fighting it out. She'd talk to Stefan on Monday at school, and she'd see Damon . . . Well, whenever he decided he wanted to see her. She didn't want to crowd him even if he did claim to be here for her. Too much too soon might push him away instead of bring him closer.

She wanted him to come to terms with who they could be on his own with no extra prodding from her. Okay, maybe she'd have to gently nudge him in the right direction, but other than that . . . It was all up to him.


	19. Chapter Fifteen

The next morning Rebecca woke up and took a shower to pass the time until Bonnie woke up. She found a little Post-it note on the bathroom mirror. Tina had taken Chelsea to the park; Rebecca realized then that it must not be morning. It was around noon.

Rebecca felt a jolt of possessiveness; Tina was useful but Rebecca didn't have to like sharing her sister with the woman. Where had she been eight months ago when Rebecca really could've used her? Rebecca had had to learn how to take care of a baby on her own; where had Tina been then?

Back to the present: Rebecca loved showers; they were relaxing. She took showers that lasted at least an hour. Or until the hot water ran out, whichever came first.

She didn't feel like dressing up that day so she just put on some shorts and a tank top. Bare feet, hair up in a ponytail; she wasn't planning on going anywhere that day.

Her dad was out again so she went about making breakfast - or brunch really. Pancakes, syrup, extra butter. The smell woke Bonnie up. Rebecca smiled and bit her lip to keep from laughing - Bonnie's hair looked like it had been through the wars; it was even matted up on one side.

"Rough night?"

"Mm. Weird dreams."

"Oh. I have those myself," Rebecca said. "Pancakes?"

"Yes, please." Bonnie smiled. "I'll get the milk."

When they sat down to eat Rebecca began talking about the crystal Bonnie had led her to the night before. She even went to get it from her room.

"Here. This is what you gave me. Do you . . . remember it at all?"

"No." Rebecca handed it to her. "It's ugly."

"It's old. It was with the other antiques."

"And we just took it?" Bonnie asked, eyes widening.

"Well, yeah." Rebecca shrugged sheepishly. "You were in a trance, Bonnie, and you said 'You can't let them out'."

"I did?" Bonnie looked down and began pushing her food around. "I still don't remember."

"That's okay, Bonnie. We should tell your Grams, though."

"No," Bonnie said firmly. "She's gonna tell me it's because I'm a witch."

"Oh, right. Do you wanna keep the crystal? You did find it."

"No, I gave it to you. You keep it."

Another thing to add to the space under the floorboards of her closet.

After breakfast, Bonnie took out a candle from a drawer near the sink. Rebecca looked at her strangely.

"I wanna show you something."

"O . . . kay."

Bonnie sat at the kitchen table and stared at the wick and concentrated. Rebecca watched her, interested but confused.

"What're you doing?"

"Just watch, okay?"

Rebecca nodded and watched, like Bonnie had asked her to. And . . . The candle lit itself.

"Uh . . ."

Bonnie looked at her tentatively. "I did that. I've . . . I told you weird things have been happening to me. I just . . . I realized last night I could do it at the party. Mrs. Lockwood was complaining about not having the candles in the dining room lit and I felt so sorry for the waiter guy. I tried and it didn't work, but then I turned around and I saw a candle burning and when I looked back, they were all lit. Because of me."

Bonnie blew the candle out and she looked at everything but Rebecca. She was obviously scared of what Rebecca would think.

"Hey, it doesn't change anything, Bonnie. You're still one of my best friends. I don't care what you can do. I think it's pretty neat."

Rebecca was happy Bonnie trusted her enough to show her what she could do . . . And maybe . . . maybe she should show Bonnie the same respect.

"Okay . . . Come with me."

Bonnie stood up and followed her, but Rebecca could feel the confusion coming off of her.

"We're going to go outside for a minute."

Rebecca's backyard was fenced in with wooden posts, but there was an opening at the way back that led to a wooded area. She usually didn't wander too far in, but she could make an exception now.

"Okay. Pick a branch."

"What?" Bonnie asked, smiling a little at the request.

"A big branch that a normal person can't break off."

"Uh. Okay . . ." Bonnie looked around and found one that was about a foot in diameter. "Now what?"

"Try and break it."

Bonnie pulled and made a face when it didn't budge. "Okay, you're just doing this so you can laugh at me."

"No, I'm not. Now let me try."

Bonnie tilted her head sideways, scrutinizing, but moved aside anyway. The branch was obviously easy to break off for Rebecca, but for good measure she squeezed until the wood began to crumble. Bonnie watched, fascinated, as the wood pieces fell to the ground.

"That . . . How'd you do that?"

"I'm different. Obviously. Uh . . . A couple days after school began I started changing. I realized that I was stronger. If you look at my locker, my fingerprints are indented in it."

"Are you . . . okay? I mean . . . is it something bad like hyper-adrenal overload or something?"

Rebecca grinned and wiped her hands together to get rid of the leftover wood. "I'm not sick. Um . . . I can't explain everything, but do you remember that vision you had of me? Or the one you thought you had?"

"Yeah." Bonnie was hesitant again.

"I, uh . . . I know how to fight now. I've been training with this woman named Diana. I met her the night of the comet. You told me that I've changed and I have but there is a reason and I needed you to know that I'm not just going crazy, ya know.

Bonnie looked from the ground to Rebecca. "Does anyone else know? I mean, am I the last one to -"

"No, you're not the last. Damon knows and, by default, so does Stefan. Your Grams knows. Uh, but my dad and Elena and Caroline? No. And Bonnie, you can't tell Caroline, okay? She would tell everybody."

"No, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. I'm glad that I told you. I hated not having anyone to talk to."

"I get that," Bonnie said. "I do."

"I know. Which is why I don't mind telling you." Rebecca grinned and grabbed Bonnie's arm. "Now, come on, let's get out of the creepy woods."

Bonnie chuckled. "Right."  
\----------  
Later that same day Elena and Caroline came over. The first thing Elena and Caroline asked was if Damon was there. Elena seemed happy and Caroline seemed a little down when he wasn't. Why? If Rebecca had been in Caroline's shoes, she'd be happy if Damon wasn't around.

Rebecca was extra nice to Caroline; and she wanted to see the damage Damon had done. It couldn't have been too bad, because Caroline had been able to cover the mark with make up.

"Care, are you okay?"

Rebecca expected Caroline to say something like 'do you care?' but she hadn't. Caroline was a little less exuberant than normal. Damon had . . . taken too much? Had he . . . been trying to kill her? Had Rebecca been wrong about him not needing to kill Caroline, because he couldn't just . . . do that. Caroline was annoying, sure, but that didn't warrant a death sentence. She was what Rebecca would call an innocent. An obnoxious innocent, but an innocent nonetheless.

"I'm tired," she said.

"What . . . happened?" Rebecca asked hesitantly. She wasn't only asking for herself; she needed to know what Damon needed to make Caroline forget.

"I remember the party," Caroline said. "And I remember Damon was behind me. He was . . . kissing my neck or . . . biting my neck. I don't know. I passed out. Maybe I let him bite me."

"Why would you do that?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

"I don't know, okay?" Caroline was agitated and Rebecca felt a jolt of sympathy for her. Damon should've treated her better and not left her traumatized and not in a place where everyone could find her. "Can we not talk about Damon?"

"Yeah, sure. What d'you guys wanna do?" Rebecca looked at Elena. "Have you heard from Stefan?"

"No." Elena sighed, but Rebecca could tell she was angry. "All I got was a voicemail saying he had to take care of something and he'd explain in a few days."

"Is he okay?"

Elena shrugged, looking downtrodden. "I don't know. I just . . . The message was all I got."

"Oh."

The four girls talked the rest of the time they were there. They left around six-ish because Rebecca's dad came home and since everyone knew he had issues . . . they all made with the quick exits.  
\----------  
The next morning Damon woke her with a text saying he had to leave and he didn't know when he'd be back. And that was it. She'd asked him if he was okay or if he needed help and she didn't get an answer.

At first she just shrugged it off. Damon had other things to do besides spend time with her, she understood that. But then as the hours passed she grew anxious because he wouldn't just . . . ignore her. Not unless he had a reason, which she didn't think he did. She hadn't done anything wrong.

She left him a message when he didn't pick up. She apologized in advance just in case and asked him to please call when he could. She at least wanted to know he was okay.

Caroline called her and asked her to help plan this Sexy Suds Carwash thing. It was a fundraiser for the football team - Coach Tanner had been fired, which Rebecca laughed at; she couldn't stand the guy - and the players, the cheerleaders and some of the band were participating. Caroline wanted her to help with the flyers and things like that. Because Rebecca felt bad about how Damon had treated Caroline, she agreed to help. They met at the library and they worked on the layout for the flyers. Rebecca had brought her homework with her to work on after she was done helping.

Caroline seemed to be feeling better that day, at least. Though she seemed to be a little too happy for someone who'd just gotten eaten. Rebecca kept her lips tightly sealed so she wouldn't laugh at how casually she had just thought that.

The next day at school Elena, Bonnie, and even Rebecca worried how Caroline seemed to be taking everything. Rebecca had texted Damon again to see if he'd done anything, any mind compulsion, to Caroline because if he hadn't, then Caroline had lost it. She was just going on about her business like nothing had ever happened. It was . . . almost creepy. But Damon hadn't answered.

Stefan was at school and Rebecca couldn't wait to talk to him alone. She wanted to know where Damon was. She had to wait until after history, though she didn't know why they had it; the substitute had only made them take notes from the text.

She caught up with Stefan outside the school and grabbed his arm. He looked at her sympathetically. She wanted to tell him where he could shove that sympathy crap.

"He's not here, Rebecca."

"Where'd he go?" She glared at him. "Is he coming back?"

"No, he's not. Not for a very long time."

"What did you do, Stefan? Is he . . . hurt? Is he even still alive? Or . . . You know what I mean."

Stefan began walking and she followed. She wanted her answer! It might be said she needed an answer. There was a very strong ache beginning to form in her chest and she knew it wouldn't go away until she knew what was going on.

"I didn't kill him, okay?" He had actually stopped to look her in the eyes to say that.

"Hm." Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you lying to me?"

"No, Rebecca."

"Good. Then I don't have to kill you."

Whoa, where had that come from? But even as she wondered she knew the statement she'd said was true; the thought of someone ending Damon's existence, taking Damon out of her world, scared her and angered her at the same time. And the fact that it was Stefan - bloodthirsty animal Stefan - didn't help matters any.

"Stop," Stefan said. "Can't you see what Damon's doing? You're a good girl, Rebecca, don't let him change you. He will destroy you. He might not do it intentionally, not to you, but it will happen."

Rebecca's eyes stung with tears of anger. "Like you destroyed him? I was there, Stefan, I know what you did. I know what you were, and then you turn around and judge him?"

Stefan looked like he'd been hit in the face, which was ironic seeing as to how that was what she wanted to do.

Instead she just shook her head in disgust. "You are such a hypocrite. And I want him back, Stefan. Whatever you did to him, I want him back healthy and in one piece."

Saying all she had needed to say, she shoved her bag up on her shoulder and strolled away.  
\----------  
When Rebecca got home she opened the door; it was unlocked because her dad was already home. She placed her bag on the couch and heard something clatter in the kitchen.

"Tina? Dad?" she called out, going toward the noise. And then she saw something she hadn't ever thought she'd see. She forgot about the noise completely.

Robert was holding Chelsea, cradling her in his arms. Tina was supervising.

"Uh . . ." She didn't really know what to say.

She wasn't sure what had caused this sudden change in behavior and she wasn't sure how to respond to it. She said the first thing that came to mind.

"Tomorrow after school they're having this carwash thing, so . . . I might go but I'm not sure."

Rebecca was surprised by the sudden rush of anger and possessiveness she began to feel. Why was Robert holding Chelsea? He hadn't even seemed interested before. What had changed? And did he really have the right to hold her now, when he had pretty much ignored her existence since she was born. What gave him the right to be a dad now?

But . . . Robert did seem to be content with holding the baby. And from the clear expression on his face . . . he hadn't been drinking either. He was genuinely enjoying this. That made her even angrier. He couldn't just decide when he wanted to be a dad and when he didn't. That wasn't fair to either of them.

Putting a dampener on her anger, she looked at Tina. "Do you mind watching Chelsea for a few more hours? I have something I have to do."

"No, go ahead."

Rebecca went to her room and took out the three books Diana had loaned her and put them in a little bag; she put the amber crystal in her back pocket. She was going to make two pit stops before patrolling.

"Hey, Dad, can I borrow the car? I need to drop off a few things at a friend's house."

"Sure." He tossed her the keys, which she caught easily. "Be back by ten?"

She looked at him strangely. Was he actually asking?

"Um . . . Yeah. By ten. Won't be late."

She left the house, confused, and drove to Grams' house. Rebecca was offered cookies and milk, not an everyday occurrence coming from her.

"Something tells me you didn't come here just to see me," Grams said. "What happened?"

"Uh . . . Bonnie's been talking to me about . . . her witch stuff." Rebecca pulled the crystal out of her pocket. "Uh, she went into a trance Friday night at the Founder's party. She found this and gave it to me. She doesn't remember it at all, and it really freaked her out."

When Rebecca handed Grams the crystal she noticed Grams was looking at it with recognition.

"You've seen it before?"

"This belonged to one of the most powerful witches of my family. I have a picture of it." She stood up and went to a shelf of photo albums. "Hold on."

When Grams showed Rebecca a picture from the album Rebecca had to do a double-take; she knew the woman in the picture.

"Emily," she whispered. "1864."

Grams looked at her sharply. "How do you know that name? Have you been having your prophetic dreams?"

"No. Uh, I haven't. It was that spell. I went back to her time period. I met her. I never noticed her necklace." Rebecca suddenly wasn't interested in her cookies anymore. "Uh, you should keep the crystal. Okay? It's a family heirloom. Bonnie found it. And please, talk to her, tell her what's happening to her. It's heartbreaking watching her and not being able to help her."

Grams just looked at her and Rebecca sighed. "She has to come to you, I know. Like I did."

"Yes. It's easier that way. When she's ready she'll come."  
\----------  
After Rebecca was done visiting with Grams she went to Diana's to return the books she'd borrowed. Diana looked at her shoulder and was amazed when there wasn't even a scar. Rebecca didn't even try to explain it away.

"I'm just lucky, I guess. My dad freaked out when he saw the blood." She began going through Diana's books and picked the first three that came after 1864. It wasn't just journals this time; it was books on demons and other creatures. "Do you care if I write some of this stuff down? I wanna remember what I read."

Diana smiled softly. "I would suggest it, actually. You need to remember what you read in case you come across something and I'm not there with you."

"Okay. No one will see it, I promise." Then she brought up something she probably shouldn't have. "I need to ask you something. I need to tell somebody about me. I need someone other than you and Sheila to talk to. I need . . . A friend, a normal friend."

"It's dangerous for them to know, Rebecca," she said sternly.

"It's dangerous for them to not know," Rebecca rebutted. "They could invite a vampire into their house without knowing. If vampires get wind of who I am they will come at me through my friends."

"If you were to tell them, how do you know they wouldn't tell anyone else?"

"I know who I can trust, Diana," Rebecca seethed. "At least they wouldn't have sent me on a 'risk my life' mission for a box of books."

"Rebecca . . ."

Diana looked hurt but Rebecca found she couldn't bring herself to care. What she'd said was true. Diana had made her risk her life for some books and she hadn't even apologized.

"Look, just . . . Think about it, okay? Please? I'm . . .when I'm around my friends I'm completely alone because I can't talk to them. I just want to be able to talk to them."  
\----------  
Patrol that night was fruitless. Rebecca didn't know if that was good or bad. On the one hand, yay, no vampires to hurt her, but on the other, she had all this restless energy that she needed to get rid of. It was like she was itching for a fight; it wasn't like her. Or . . . It used to not be her. But it was part of the new her, it was part of her Slayerness, she assumed.

She got home before ten, ate a small bowl of cereal, and went to bed. She didn't sleep well; she kept dreaming of seeing Damon die right in front of her and she couldn't even do anything to stop it. The last dream she had had her jerking up, grabbing her own chest like she'd been the one to be staked.

She got up and went to the bathroom. She ran some cool water over her face because there was a light sheen of sweat there. And she was pale. The dreams had affected her that much?

Something's wrong, she thought. Damon's in trouble, I can feel it.

If she only knew where he was she'd go to him, help him. But she knew Stefan wouldn't tell her; not when he was the one who'd taken Damon from her in the first place.


	20. Chapter Sixteen

The next morning Rebecca's aunt called her out of school because she felt so bad. She didn't understand what was going on. She was getting sick? God, she didn't need to be sick; she'd missed enough school as it was.

Her dad had to work that day, but her aunt stayed with her. Rebecca would've preferred to be left alone but her aunt was attentive for some reason. Maybe she just looked that horrible.

Chelsea, at least, would be taken care of, though the baby didn't seem to understand why she couldn't play with her sister. Tina had taken Chelsea out of the room when she'd found out how sick Rebecca was, but she kept coming back to check on her.

Whatever. The point was Rebecca wasn't used to it and it made her uncomfortable, and being uncomfortable and sick at the same time was not a good combination. It put her in a bad mood and eventually she got up to lock her bedroom door so she wouldn't have to deal with her aunt coming in and out. Why couldn't her aunt just leave her alone to rest? She might feel better if she got some uninterrupted sleep.

And she still couldn't shake the feeling that her sickness - or whatever this was - had something to do with Damon's sudden disappearance. And she wasn't just being pathetic and clingy; this was a physical thing, not a mental one. Something was wrong; she just didn't know what it was.

Later that day Elena, Bonnie and Caroline texted her to see if she was okay since she hadn't been at school. Caroline had been sympathetic. Rebecca couldn't tell if she was sincere since it was a text, but Caroline had been coming around; at least she was talking to Rebecca again. Bonnie and Elena had called to see if she wanted them to blow off the carwash fundraiser and come visit but Rebecca had said no.

She had other plans. Ones that involved getting out of the house. She was well enough to drive but her dad had the car, so . . . She called a cab and borrowed some money from her aunt.

When her cab arrived she told the driver she wanted to go to the Salvatore boardinghouse. Everybody in Mystic Falls knew where it was but not many people had ever been inside. Rebecca had never been inside but that was about to change. She was either going to talk to Stefan - maybe if he saw what was happening to her, she'd get some help from him - or his nephew/supposed uncle.

The driveway to the house was a little hard to find since the woods were overgrown there, but the driver found it and dropped her off.

"Here," she said, giving him the money. "Don't wait. I'll find another way home."

She waited until the cab was out of sight before she turned to the house. Rebecca remembered when she was little there had been a story about the place being haunted. Well . . . Now she knew - hoped - there weren't any ghosts, but there were vampires. She had to admit, seeing the house now, it was creepy in that old Victorian way, and it did look haunted. Not Amityville haunted, but still . . .

She knocked and then saw this drawstring thing - an old-fashioned doorbell - and she pulled it. A man, late thirties or early forties answered.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh . . . Yeah. I'm Rebecca, I know Stefan. Is he here?"

"No, he's at this thing for school. You don't look well, are you okay?"

"Ha, I think that's the question before the court. Uh . . . What about Damon, is he here?" Actually, she knew he was because she could feel him. She just wanted to know if this guy was in on whatever was going on, and if he lied then he obviously was. "I need to speak to him."

"He's not available."

"Not available? Okay, well, uh, you're his uncle, right? Zach?" The man nodded. "Okay, well, I happen to know you're lying, so if you could please move aside . . ."

"I'm sorry, but you can't see him. It's not safe."

Rebecca sighed. "Mm. Okay, we'll try this a different way."

She drew her arm back and punched him hard enough to knock him out. She was sure he was a decent enough guy but she'd tried being nice and it hadn't worked so . . .

She dragged him far enough into the house that she could shut the door. Then she focused all her energy on locating Damon. She probably would've taken in the décor if she'd had the time, but she didn't right now.

Her senses led her to a dark staircase and she paused before going down them. Why did staircases always have to be dark? Was it just to up the creepy factor?

When she reached the bottom she went through a small hallway and stopped at a door with jail bar windows. Wow, the Salvatore's had a dungeon type room in the basement. What was next? A moat with alligators that you needed a bridge to cross over?

Whatever. Focus, Becca.

Damon was in the dungeon room and he was sitting on the floor leaning against the back wall. He looked rough; had he been here all this time? And he obviously wasn't being fed; he was pale and he looked like he was wasting away.

"Damon?" she whispered.

A huge wave of relief went through her when he looked up; at least he wasn't dead-dead. But his beautiful blue eyes were dull, almost lifeless.

"What happened to you?"

"Vervain. Stefan dosed Caroline with it." Damon rose and walked to the door. "Uh . . . What happened to you? You look as bad as I feel."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. "And I don't know. I woke up in the middle of the night looking like this and I knew something was wrong with you."

Damon probably would've commented on that if he hadn't been in this state of starvation. All he said was, "Are you gonna let me out?"

Rebecca bit her lip. If he'd been locked up for four days . . . He would be starving and he probably wouldn't be able to control himself, not even with her. But on the other hand, he was weak; she could probably take him if she had to.

"I want to."

God, but if she let him out, she was pretty much signing someone else's death warrant. Assuming he would kill someone - and he probably would because he was starving; he might kill more than one someone - it would be on her head, on her conscience. It would be her guilt to deal with.

"You have to run," Damon said. "As soon as you unlock the door you have to run."

Rebecca could tell if she had been anyone else, he wouldn't have warned her. But she was her, thankfully.

"As fast as you can, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. But you're just gonna chase me."

"The vervain makes it where I'm not as fast. You can outrun me." He didn't deny that the predator part of him thought of her as prey right then.

"Okay." She wasn't sure if he was telling her the truth or if he was just saying this so she'd let him out so he could feed from her. Or Zach.

She blocked the thought of Zach dying out of her head - she couldn't help him and get out of the house at the same time. The words 'collateral damage' pushed their way to the front of her mind and she winced at how cold and detached it sounded. Because he was a human; she shouldn't feel that way about him. But he had obviously helped Stefan do this to Damon, so if Damon killed him . . .

Damon placed his hands on the bars and she noticed the ring wasn't on his left hand. Stefan had taken it, apparently. So all Rebecca had to do was open the door and then get outside into the sun where Damon couldn't follow and she'd be safe. Rebecca reached forward and caressed his hand before she reached for the thick metal latch to pull it out of the lock.

It took her two seconds to unlatch the lock and then she took off down the hallway and up the stairs; she ran right into Zach and they both tumbled to the ground.

She should've hit him harder. And what was wrong with him, anyway? Couldn't he see she was running for her life here?

"Move!" she said, getting back up. "Run!"

There, she'd told him to run, now what he did with it was up to him. She, however, began running again, down another hallway and toward the front door. She heard a sickening crack and was sure it was someone's neck being snapped.

Zach. She felt a twinge in her heart as something broke inside her. Something was wrong with her. She was willing to let people die? When had she started thinking that way?

Damon, she thought. Maybe he really was going to destroy her, like Stefan had said. Unwittingly, maybe, but the end result would still be the same. She wouldn't be the same person. But . . . No . . . that wasn't exactly right either. Damon was not the cause of her changing; her becoming a Slayer had changed her, made her harder in some ways. And her love for Damon made her put him first; she put the people she cared about before herself, that was just how she functioned.

Besides, Damon was the only one who knew who she really was; she had to pretend with everyone else. All of her normal friends wouldn't agree with the decision she'd made - to let Damon out - they wouldn't understand. Hell, she barely understood it and she was the one who'd done it. The only thing she understood was that she needed Damon in her life, and anyone who tried to take him away was no friend to her.

Rebecca made it to the front door and almost had it open when it was slammed shut, and she was pushed against it.

Ow, was her first thought, because her pelvic bone had been shoved against the doorknob. Damon's hands were fisted on either side of her head and his knuckles were white against the dark wooden door. There was a soft growling by her ear and it made her heart beat faster in fear.

She held perfectly still, waiting for him to decide what he was going to do. She wouldn't fight him unless she absolutely had to. If he let her go -

He latched an arm around her waist and jerked her to him while the other moved her hair out of the way. Then she heard an almost pained groan and she felt his fangs sink deeply into her flesh. It wasn't gentle like the last time he'd bitten her. This was pure, unadulterated need and hunger coming from him, and it felt like someone had stabbed her in the neck; it felt like it had when Stefan had bitten her. Stefan had been behind her, too, had jerked her against him, yanked her head to the side and had just greedily drunk from her. Like Damon was doing now.

God, he's gonna kill me.

She let out a little scream and brought her legs up to kick at the door. It threw them both backward and Damon hit the wall. It didn't make him stop biting - he just bit harder, only now he was covering her mouth so she couldn't scream, or breathe really.  
\----------  
Oh, God, yes, Damon thought as the red liquid he was drinking slid down his throat and began nourishing his now-starved body. Starving hurt like a bitch. It made him feel like his body was on fire and not in the good turned on sort of way. And whoever he was drinking from - his mind had shut out everything but the fact that he was hungry - had the most amazing blood. It was so good. Strong, powerful, but sweet and addictive. Holy hell, was it addictive. All blood should taste like hers.

And he was drinking from a her - he knew that much from the scream he'd heard. And she was a fighter - she'd had the strength to knock him around a little, though he wasn't at his best right now.

He drew her into the living room so he could get more comfortable, but the little thing had some fight left in her and she grabbed onto the wall of the archway and refused to move. He growled a little, animalistic urges taking over, and pulled harder and squeezed her tighter. He could break her if he wanted to, did she not understand that?

He heard a small whimper and felt satisfied when she submitted and let go. He brought her into the room. He moved with her, enjoying that he could again. The blood was flowing slower now, with him controlling it. He wanted to savor this in case he never had a chance to taste anything as sweet again.

This one girl wouldn't be enough. He needed more. He'd been locked in the basement for four days, starving. Stefan . . . He was going to kill Stefan.

Just then an intense pain washed through him and he yanked away from the girl he'd been feeding from. She fell to the ground, barely conscious. He cursed himself for getting close to the window - she'd pulled the drawstring and the curtains had flown open letting in the accursed sun. It had burned him, offensive thing that it was.

"Damn it!" Though he was already healing, it had still hurt.

He took a few unsteady breaths and took in the scene before him. The girl he'd been feeding from was bathed in the sunlight so he couldn't get to her again. Her neck was torn open and still bleeding and . . . The girl was Rebecca.

That's who he'd been feeding from? Who he'd been so . . . rough with? He'd pretty much ripped her throat open and it was still bleeding; it wasn't going to stop on its own.

She was awake, barely, and breathing steadily, but her heartbeat was slower than it should have been. And she was crying. Crying because of him. Because he had hurt her or scared her, maybe.

For the first time in a very long time he called himself a monster and cared. Cared because Rebecca didn't deserve a monster. She didn't deserve someone, who, when the chips were down would feed off the girl who loved him to save his own ass.

He watched her sit up and move unsteadily back against the wall. She was still bathed in light and he was still enshrouded in darkness; ironic, considering that would be the story of their life if they were to be together. But he wouldn't - couldn't - just leave her alone; he was far too selfish and he craved her attention - and now her blood - too much to go away.

He swallowed the leftover blood and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He felt an unfamiliar prickling in his eyes and blinked a few times. He felt like crying?

I do not cry, he told himself harshly.

You do now, the voice in his head said. Look what you did. The voice was taunting him, making him feel guilty and he desperately wanted it to shut up.

Damon had a lot to feel guilty for and he didn't want to feel it. But this, hurting Rebecca, he couldn't shut that guilt out. No, he . . . He should feel that guilt so he wouldn't do it again.

Ugh! This human emotion thing is for the dogs. It's stupid, pointless, and . . . Irrational. He needed it to go away.

Even as he was thinking that, though, he felt a wet trail slide down his cheek and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. It was a tear. A tear. He hadn't cried in he couldn't remember how long, but now . . . This girl, this little human girl that he'd hurt so bad - bad-bad - had drawn that response from him. That couldn't be good.

"Becca?" he called to her and he hated the way his voice broke, that she could make him feel that way. Unlike he'd thought before, she would be the one to break him.

Rebecca looked at him and he was immensely relieved to see there was still a fire in her eyes; he hadn't put that out.

She even smiled a little, though it was sad. "Haven't we been here before?"

Damon blinked in surprise. He knew she was talking about the first time he'd bitten her; he'd been too weak to resist then, too.

"Can you help me?" she whispered weakly. "Uh . . . Towel or first aid kit maybe?"

"Can you . . . will you come out from there? I can't go in the sun, I don't have my ring."

"I noticed," she said, smirking bitterly. "Why do you think I opened the curtain?"

So she'd known he'd be hurt from it? Okay, well . . . At least she had some sense of self preservation. He'd been beginning to wonder, what with her so willing to spend time with him and let him out when he was starving, knowing he would come after her.

"Sorry for that, by the way. I know it hurt, but, to be fair, you were biting me, so . . . Back to the original question: Can you help me?"

"And again: Will you come out from there?"

"Can you control yourself?" she countered.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, center himself. "Yes. I won't hurt you." He'd had enough to take the edge off, enough to keep her safe.

Rebecca moved slowly and he saw the tentativeness in her eyes, in her movements. She was making sure he was being honest and not just saying that so he could finish her off.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said, somewhat impatiently. "Now come on. You won't stop bleeding on your own."

He knew Rebecca had every reason to be acting the way she was; he had just attacked her, would've killed her had she not pulled the curtains open. But it hurt to see her be scared of him; he'd never wanted that. He'd never wanted to attack her either, but the need had been so strong, his hunger had been overwhelming.

At least she'd protected herself and he could heal her now. But wait, he was only assuming she would want his blood after what he'd done. Well, he'd force it down her throat if he had to; he wasn't just gonna let her die. He couldn't just let her die.

Once she was halfway out of the light he grabbed her arms and helped her up. He realized the reason why she'd been moving so slow was because she'd lost so much blood - he'd stolen it from her - she couldn't move any faster.

He immediately bit into his wrist and was relieved when she took his blood into her without much provocation. It took more than he was used to giving and more than she was used to receiving, but she took whatever it was he was offering. He knew it wouldn't give her strength back, but it would heal her and that had to be enough for now. Or . . . Hopefully it would be enough . . . He wasn't sure. Aside from the few times he'd kept someone around for longer than a night he hadn't used his blood to heal anybody other than Rebecca. He didn't know if it would make her feel better or worse; all he knew was it had saved her life before, 145 years ago, and it was healing her now.

He pulled away and watched as a trail of blood fell from her lips and down to mix with her own blood on her neck. He clenched his jaw and turned his head away.

Not her. I can't have her. Not again, not now.

"You need to go. Now," he said tightly. "Leave, go wash off. Do . . . something."

"I'll . . . go wash off. If I . . . stay in one of the rooms upstairs, you'll stay down here?"

"Until nightfall," he said unapologetically. "You know I need more."

"I know that." She nodded. He watched guilt play over her features. "I knew that when I let you out, Damon."

He watched her get up and struggle to go past Zach, who was dead now; the only reason Damon hadn't drank from him was because Zach had told him he had vervain in his system and that wouldn't have helped the situation at all. Rebecca glanced at the body, took a shuddering breath, and then walked on by. He wanted to tell her to wait, tell her that whatever damage he was going to do tonight - and he was damage-bound - it wasn't her fault. His actions would never be her fault.

But he kept his mouth shut.

He also wanted to call Stefan and let him know exactly what his actions had done. He wanted to tell him that if anything happened to Rebecca - meaning if she died because of something Stefan had done - if Rebecca died, Elena would die.  
\----------  
Rebecca was getting used to mixing her showers with blood and tears and that wasn't good. But there it was, story of her life now, she guessed. It wasn't pretty or happy, but it was real.

She cried softly, hoping Damon couldn't hear. He would never admit it out loud, but she could tell he'd hated hurting her - he'd hated that after the vampire part of him had been sated that it had been her that he'd found there, hurt - and she'd wanted to tell him she didn't blame him, that she'd known what could happen when she'd let him out. It had been a risk she'd obviously been willing to take.

God, I'm so tired, she thought as she shut the water off. She grabbed one of the fluffiest towels she'd ever touched and began drying herself off. She had to sit down in the middle of that because she ran out of breath.

She put her jeans back on since they weren't dirty - only her shirt was, and she knew not to put that back on. She put it in the sink and ran cold water over it. She left it there. She stepped out of the bathroom - which was really just a small room without a door that was attached to the bedroom- with a towel wrapped around her and into the bedroom. On the bed was a man's button-up shirt - Damon's obviously - and on the bedside table were a glass of water and two aspirin.

Damon's way of apologizing, maybe? Whatever it was, she was grateful. She slipped the shirt on and took her pants back off. She got under the covers of the bed and took the pills.

Exhausted mentally and physically, she drifted off into a fitful sleep. When she woke up it was because someone was shaking her gently. She could tell it was Stefan from the feeling she got from him.

"Ugh, go away!" she muttered, turning away from him.

This was all his fault.

"Where's Damon?" his voice brought her out of her not-so-restful rest.

"I dunno. Out."

"He's gonna kill somebody."

Stefan's voice was urgent so she looked at him. She could tell from the look on his face that he'd found Zach. She felt sorry for that; Zach shouldn't have had to die, but he shouldn't have locked Damon up either.

"Because you starved him," she said. "He's . . . I don't know where he went, he didn't say. Now go away."

"You have to help me find him."

"I don't have to do anything," she seethed. "Find him yourself. I don't feel good."

She pulled the covers over her head and relaxed a little when she heard Stefan leave the room. Finally, Jeeze.

She took a few deep breaths, but it didn't help. She was awake now and it didn't matter what she did she knew she wasn't going back to sleep. She sat up and waited for her head to stop spinning before she stood up. She slipped her jeans on and got her phone out; it was after ten, so she called her aunt and left a message. Just a short one telling her that a friend had needed help but she'd be home after school the next day.

Technically not a lie; Damon had needed help, he was a friend, and she would be home the next day.

She would've called her dad to explain but she hadn't wanted to get into it with him. He would've asked questions and she didn't feel like arguing. So Tina could relay the message.

God, Damon! She kept coming back to Damon. He was probably out there eating someone right now. She hoped it wasn't Caroline, or, if it was, that he left her alive.

She went downstairs on shaky legs and stopped to catch her breath at the bottom. Stefan passed by her and she saw he had a wooden stake in his hand. What exactly did he think she was going to let him do with that?

"You're not gonna kill him, Stefan," she said weakly. "He's out there feeding right now. He'll be stronger than you."

"I don't care. He can't do this, not here." Stefan sighed and looked up at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry if he hurt you."

She glared at him. "The only times he's ever hurt me was because of you, Stefan. Maybe you shouldn't have locked him up."

"Maybe you shouldn't have let him out."

"I had to!" she said sharply. "There's something wrong with me. I woke up last night and somehow I knew there was something wrong, that Damon was in trouble. It was . . . It was making me physically ill, Stefan. Being away from him physically hurts me. Imagine what it will do to me if you kill him."

Stefan looked at her with his intense forest green eyes like she was a science experiment and she was suddenly sorry she'd said anything at all.

"Do you keep your necklace on when you're with him?"

"He's not compelling me to feel that way, Stefan. Notice I said physically and not mentally. And as hard a concept as it is for you to grasp, an actual person loves him."

Stefan grasped her shoulders and she grimaced a little. Either he didn't notice or he didn't care, because he didn't let her go.

"Look . . . I know you think you feel that way, but Damon will use that against you. He's been alone for so long he doesn't know the meaning of that word, Rebecca. He doesn't know how to care about anyone but himself."

Rebecca felt red hot anger at his words because he was talking to her like she was a kid, which . . . Granted, to him she was, but she still didn't like it. She was angry, though, because his words sort of hit home. She'd noticed how Damon was, how there were a lot of things Damon didn't care about at all. She, however, was not one of them.

"I know it's hard for him, but he could love very well once and I'm willing to wait for him to relearn that. I'll help him. But he's never gonna get there if you keep doing things like this. If you provoke him, you know he'll react."

She grabbed the hand that had the stake in it, twisted, and then shoved it into Stefan's stomach. He grunted and fell to his knees. She ignored the pain she saw in his eyes because she knew she would feel guilty if she focused on it.

"I told you once before that I take care of what's mine," she said. "Don't hurt him again."

She twisted the wood and shoved it in deeper and then went around him to go to the front door. She couldn't stay here; not if Stefan was here because she might do something stupid like kill him. And as much as she wasn't his biggest fan she didn't want him dead. Or not really dead, anyway. The stake to the stomach had just been her getting a point across. Hopefully he'd understood and wouldn't try anything else.

When Rebecca opened the front door she froze because there was a fuming and afraid Elena on the doorstep. Confusion was added to the mix when Elena saw Rebecca.

"What're you -" Elena broke off when she saw Stefan on the floor. "What happened?"

"Um . . ." Rebecca took a deep breath and turned around to face Stefan too. "I stabbed him with a piece of wood . . . But he'll be okay. I didn't -"

"You stabbed him with a piece of wood!" Elena exclaimed. "Why?"

"Um . . ." Wow, time for truth telling, she guessed. "Stefan . . ." Then she looked at Elena. "Why're you here?"

"I wanted to . . ." Elena took in a shaky breath and looked at the ground. "I wanted to know what he was, but I guess now I know. And I shouldn't have come."

Rebecca heard the stake fall to the floor, and Stefan began stumbling around behind her.

"Elena, please -" Stefan began, but Elena was already beginning to go back to her car.

Rebecca followed her and got in the car with her and Elena looked at her suspiciously.

"Are you a vampire?"

"No, I'm not. I'm . . . take me to your house and I'll explain everything, okay?"

Elena started the car and they took off.

"Did . . . Stefan hurt you? Is that why you stabbed him? I mean, no offense, but you do look awful."

"Stefan didn't hurt me directly, but his actions did lead to me getting hurt, yes."

"His actions?"

Rebecca sighed. "Well, since you already know the vampire thing . . ." Rebecca grabbed the dashboard as Elena swerved. "Stefan locked Damon up and I let Damon out. He told me to run and I did, but I didn't get out fast enough."

"And?" Elena whispered.

"And he bit me." She looked at Elena, who was determinedly looking the other way. "I . . . got away. I drank his blood to heal me."

"He let you do that?" Elena looked at her now, surprise flickering in her eyes. Then she looked back at the road.

"Yes. Damon does a lot of things . . . Um, admittedly bad things, but hurting me intentionally is not one of them."

"Caroline?"

"He was feeding from her, Elena. He can't help that he needs blood to survive."

"But he was hurting her." They pulled up to Elena's house but they didn't get out of the car. "He was hurting her and you knew. You obviously know how to stop them, or hurt them at least. Why would you let him do that?"

This was the part that Rebecca was dreading; the explaining her actions part. She knew that to someone who wasn't her it would look bad.

"Okay . . . If you were me, you'd understand, but . . . A few days after school started I began changing. Getting stronger, faster, and then I met this woman named Diana. She told me I was a Vampire Slayer."

"A -"

"Vampire Slayer. I'm supposed to kill them. But I don't wanna kill anything, Elena, okay? I just . . . I told Damon I didn't want anyone to die; since I am what he wants it wouldn't be in his best interest to kill innocent people. He was behaving, sort of, but tonight he won't be able to control himself because Stefan starved him."

"And you let him out." Elena looked away, but Rebecca could tell she was trying to understand. "Because you love him?"

"That's part of it," Rebecca admitted. "But there's something, some kind of connection between me and Damon. I don't know what it is, but he needed my help, Elena. And I needed him. I was physically ill earlier because I knew something was wrong, that's why I didn't go to school."

Elena nodded, taking in that explanation. "That still doesn't explain Caroline."

"I told Damon as long as nobody died I didn't care," Rebecca said, almost mechanically.

"But why?" Elena asked, frustrated. "Why did you let him?"

"Because, Elena, human blood is the natural food source for a vampire! I'm not gonna make him give that up. It keeps him strong. He can control himself when he's not . . . starving. Even Stefan says he doesn't kill needlessly."

"But that doesn't make it okay, Rebecca. You should be stopping him!"

Rebecca didn't say anything because she knew Elena would react that way. No matter what Rebecca said, Elena would feel the way she did; Rebecca couldn't make her understand because Elena wasn't her.


	21. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starts right from the end of the last one.

Rebecca stayed at Elena's that night even though Elena was a little pissed at her. Rebecca crashed in Jeremy's room instead of Elena's. When Jeremy saw the state she was in - messed up hair, a man's shirt, and her jeans - he grinned a little, but then he stopped - probably because she also looked horrible; pale and weak.

"What happened to you?"

"Very bad day," she said. "Got sick."

"Oh . . ." If he could tell she was lying, he didn't say anything about it.

She sat on his bed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Jer?"

"Hm?"

"If you loved someone, loved them so much that you didn't know if you could function without them . . . And they needed to hurt someone, would you let them?"

"What?"

"Just answer honestly."

She had to know if it was just her. She had to know if anyone else would react the way she had.

"Okay. It depends on why they needed to hurt whoever they were hurting. Like was there a reason? Or were they doing it just for spite?"

"There's a reason."

"Then, yes."

Rebecca sighed in relief; so she wasn't the only one who felt that way. She fell backwards on the bed and pulled Jeremy down beside her.

"Are we too old to do the brother/sister sleeping in the same bed thing?"

"Just a little. Why?"

"Because I really don't wanna sleep alone," she whispered honestly.

Jeremy looked at her, worried, when tears began to fall. Rebecca understood the concern; before school began she had never cried so much and now it was like she was always crying. And she hated it. She didn't want to be one of those women who only knew how to cry; she wanted to be fun and happy.

"Hey, I think we can make an exception tonight, okay?" Jeremy said, wiping the tears away.

She nodded and moved closer. "Thank you."

Rebecca closed her eyes, exhausted, hoping that Jeremy wasn't reading anything but what she'd said to him into this situation. Their relationship was good the way it was and she didn't want it to get awkward because she'd been a little needy that night. She wanted to fall asleep beside someone who cared about her. It was comforting and it made her feel a little less alone.

Granted, Jeremy wasn't the guy who she wanted to fall asleep beside, but he was still someone she cared about and was comfortable enough with to fall asleep with.  
\----------  
The next morning she awoke with her head on Jeremy's chest and with his arm around her. She knew right away that it was Jeremy and not Damon. Damon's chest was firmer. Damon's whole body was firmer. She became aware of a hand playing through her curls and she lifted her head up to look at Jeremy, who was worried again.

"What?"

He blinked a few times and she could see hesitation in his brown eyes.

"What?" she repeated gently.

"What happened to you? You were crying out in your sleep. Did someone hurt you? Because you sounded really afraid, Becca."

"No one hurt me," she responded automatically, but then because she hated lying to him, she added, "on purpose. No one hurt me on purpose. Um . . . I can't really talk about it. It's just something I have to deal with on my own."

"Okay. I'm here, though, if . . ."

"I know." She gave him a brief hug before getting up. "Thanks, Jer."

She was sure she'd slept better than she would've had she been alone. She'd still had nightmare images running through her mind all night. Even though she knew Damon hadn't meant to hurt her, it still made her head hurt thinking about it. It had been frightening and painful when he'd bitten her. It had been because he'd been starving, she knew that - and she still blamed Stefan for that - but it had still been Damon hurting her.

"I have to go home and change for school," Rebecca said, forcing herself to not think about Damon now.

"You're actually going?" Jeremy seemed surprised. "You've been missing a lot."

"I know," Rebecca sighed. Jeremy wasn't judging, she noticed, because he'd missed a lot himself. "I have, but . . . I'm gonna try to do better."

Not that she'd need a high school education, because assuming she even had a future it had already been decided for her. Bad hours, no pay, and sharp wooden things were what she could look forward to.

Once downstairs she noticed that neither Jenna nor Elena was anywhere to be seen. Elena had probably left already and Jenna was probably in class - Psychology 101 or something like that.

Now that she was thinking about it, Rebecca didn't feel like going to school. She texted Bonnie to see if she could pick up her homework for her at the end of the day; Bonnie reliably said yes.

Rebecca got a cab again, and again told the driver to go ahead, not to wait. She didn't knock because she knew whichever brother was there would hear her anyway.

"Damon?" she called out, felt that he was near, and then he was right there and she noticed his eyes were cold and furious. He'd never looked at her like that before. "Um . . . H - hi."

What was wrong with him? Something had to have happened to put him in this mood.

"Whose scent is that?" His voice was falsely casual and she knew at that moment he was more dangerous than he'd ever been around her - excluding the day before, of course.

"What?"

"The scent, it's all over you. Whose is it?"

"Oh . . . Um, don't go flying off the handle. It's Jeremy's. I slept with him." When he put his hands on either side of the door, near her head, she backtracked hurriedly. That last statement hadn't been meant to sound like that. "I mean, I slept in his bed with him. There was nothing romantic or sexual at all. But that's why his scent was on me, is on me."

And really? Damon was worried about that right now? She'd come over here to see if he was okay even though she'd been the one who'd nearly died and he was going to ask her about that? He was going to doubt her when she'd never done anything to hurt him, ever?  
\----------  
When Damon had gotten home, he'd known immediately that Rebecca hadn't been there; he'd thought she wouldn't come back either. Not after what had happened, what he'd done.

But here she was. He'd gone a little crazy, what with someone else's scent all over her - the predator part of him coming out, he guessed. If he'd been thinking rationally he would've noticed there was no sex scent on her, but he hadn't been thinking rationally.

And he'd scared her again. The fear he could smell. Though, that could've been left over from the day before, he wasn't sure.

"Why were you over there?" He backed away and relaxed a little.

"Elena came over last night. I went home with her; she wasn't in the most sociable of moods, so I slept in Jeremy's room." There was a little bit of attitude in her voice and he didn't know where it was coming from. He'd have to play this by ear, he guessed.

Damon watched as her teeth grazed over her bottom lip. He had the sudden urge to lean forward and repeat the gesture on his own but he didn't. When he looked back up at her eyes he noticed he had obviously done something to hurt her because there was pain there.

"You really think that I would just do that to you?" The hurt turned into anger. "You think that I would risk my life letting you out yesterday and then turn around today and hurt you like that?"

"I don't know what I think, okay? I didn't even expect you to come back!" He so hadn't meant to say that out loud. But it had been skimming around the back of his mind since he'd left the night before to feed. He'd thought she would avoid him like the plague now. He'd never imagined she would be back the next day.

"What? You thought I was going to be scared of the big, bad vampire?" she mocked him lightly, but her eyes had gentled. "What happened yesterday . . . It wasn't the greatest experience of my life and I definitely don't want a repeat performance, but it's not going to scare me away, because if you hadn't literally been starving, you never would've done that to me that way. It's Stefan's fault for locking you up."

Damon had pretty much stopped listening after she'd said she wasn't going to leave; that was what mattered. And he didn't have to be so defensive because he wasn't going to lose her over this. She was brave, stupid, or way too well-adjusted to be healthy. He chose to think it was the first and last things. Besides she would've gotten out fast enough if Zach hadn't gotten in the way. It wasn't like she'd wanted to get ravaged; that had been all him.

He looked at her now unmarked neck and bit the inside of his cheek. He remembered how bad it had looked the day before, all bloody and torn open.

Hm. How does one go about apologizing for something like that? His thought train paused. And since when do I apologize for anything?

Rebecca's laugh brought him out of his very confusing reverie. She was laughing at him? Not very many people could do that and just get away with it. What was so funny anyway? He didn't see anything funny about this situation.

"What?"

"You didn't mean to do it - or not to me anyway. You're sorry for almost killing me. I'm sorry for almost setting you on fire. Let's chalk it up to a very bad day, and move on. I'm good, if you're good."

He narrowed his eyes because he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was being serious. And he was in love with a lunatic. But in Rebecca's world - however strange it was to him - everything was good. So . . . They were good.

"You're amazing sometimes, you know that?" he said, walls completely down now. It was okay to do that around Rebecca; he somehow instinctively knew that.

"Glad you think so. Stefan and Elena think I'm not amazing enough." Rebecca's good nature went away and Damon cursed internally. What had the gloomy couple been doing now?

"Elena knows, Damon. About Stefan and you; that's why she was here last night. Uh, she wanted to talk to Stefan, but he was a little preoccupied with the stake I'd shoved into his stomach."

"Aw," Damon teased. "You did that for me?" Then more seriously, "I can defend myself, ya know?"

"It wasn't for you. It made me feel better."

"Oh, well then, by all means . . . Continue."

"That's when Elena showed up. I went home with her because I didn't want to stay here with Stefan. She was mad at me for giving you free reign. And maybe a little mad that I'd known about Stefan for a while and hadn't told her."

Damon's eyes widened. "What were you supposed to tell her? That Stefan has a death certificate that dates back to 1864?"

"Uh . . . Explain that to her."

Rebecca leaned back against the front door and Damon saw that even with how she'd forgiven him - or hadn't blamed him in the first place - she was still tired and pale. And the front door was just a very bad place to rest.

"Come on. We have another invalid in the living room."

"I am not -" Rebecca looked at him "- an invalid?"

"Vicki . . . Whatever her last name is," Damon said, waving his hand to dismiss the last name he didn't care enough to know.

"Donovan?" Rebecca supplied slowly, grinning.

"Yeah, her."

The grin slowly slipped from her face. "Um . . . Was she the only one?"

"No," Damon admitted. "But you don't need to know because it's not your fault, what I did."

There. Wow. He actually felt better now. He'd wanted to say that since yesterday and now that he had it was like a small weight had been lifted from his chest.

Rebecca smiled a little and he offered her his hand. She grabbed onto it and said, "I believe you actually mean that."

Damon shrugged, but gave her a small smile in return. "You don't have to feel guilty about anything."  
\----------  
In the living room Rebecca saw Vicki, unconscious, on the couch. Rebecca looked at the bite mark, which was covered with a towel. The wound was still bleeding a little, but her pulse was strong and she was breathing fine.

Damon poured himself a drink and sat in a chair across from Vicki.

"Does the alcohol help?"

"A little. It takes the edge off."

Rebecca noticed Damon still didn't have his ring and she realized he was stuck here.

Once he was done with his drink he went behind Vicki, bit his wrist and put it over her mouth. Vicki resisted at first, but then it was like Damon's blood was the sweetest thing ever. She was holding onto his wrist like she was afraid he was going to pull away.

"Oh, please, you don't taste that good," Rebecca muttered.

Damon looked offended and he smirked. "What're you talkin' about? I'm moist and delicious."

"Right." She tried to contain her laughter but she couldn't. "I'd still prefer a glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookies."

"Mm. Fine. Next time you're hurt I'll bring you milk and cookies, we'll see how that works."

Vicki finally began waking up and Damon withdrew his wrist. He compelled her so she wouldn't freak out. Rebecca didn't mind; dealing with a scared Vicki was not on her to-do list that day.

Vicki went to take a shower and while she was upstairs Damon turned on some music. When he came back his shirt was unbuttoned and hanging loosely from his shoulders.

"Um . . ." Rebecca looked away because it wasn't polite to openly stare.

"It's okay to look," Damon teased. "I know I'm hot."

Another fit of giggles left her mouth and she looked up again. The light play of muscles over his chest and abdomen was very distracting.

"You're so full of yourself."

Damon shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that it's true." He plopped down beside her. "You wouldn't be looking if you didn't see something you liked."

His eyes did that flirty thing he always did and she smiled a little.

"Fine, you're hot. But can you just kiss me now?"

He smirked but leaned in close anyway. She met him halfway and finally there was the connection she'd been looking for. He pulled away, though, right when she was getting into it and she noticed his eyes were amused and maybe a little smug.

"I thought you wanted to do the friends thing first?"

"Um . . . We can still be friends, just not only friends. The 'just friends' thing went out the window when you kissed me at that party."

She reclaimed his lips and, for the first time, opened her mouth to let him in. She trembled as his tongue danced with hers. She could taste the whiskey he'd been drinking, but it was faint so she didn't mind.

Damon seemed to be very attuned to what she wanted, though he was also kind of guiding her to do what he wanted. His hands were roaming over her back - and she suddenly remembered she still had his shirt on - and her hands were sliding tentatively over his chest. His skin was silky smooth and she liked it.

Damon smirked against her lips. He knew Rebecca wasn't used to this - if the timid caresses hadn't proven it, then the blood from yesterday had. Virgin blood tasted different than non-virgin blood. It was purer, sweeter. When he'd first been turned he couldn't tell the difference, but now he could. Rebecca didn't have any real sexual experience and Damon felt a little excited about that. He was going to have so much fun teaching her the nasty little things a man and woman could do with each others bodies.

But now wasn't the time. Vicki was in the house with them, Rebecca was still weak from yesterday, and, last but not least, he didn't want to overwhelm her by making her move into a physical relationship too fast. Where did she stand on the whole sex thing anyway? What was the right amount of time of being together before doing that for her?

Damon picked up on the fact that her heart was racing and pulled away. Her face and neck were flushed and she was breathing fast. Damon placed his hand on her chest over the beating thing and realized he'd almost made it stop yesterday. He'd known that before but it had only just hit home. And he really was sorry, it was just he'd spent so much time not apologizing for anything that it was hard to get the words out.

Damon didn't know what Rebecca saw on his face, what she was reading from it exactly, but he knew that she got it. She understood. She was the only one who really did. Maybe it was because she'd loved him when he was human, or maybe it was because he could let his walls down when he was alone with her, but she could somehow read between the lines with him. She could usually latch onto whatever he was thinking without him having to say a word.

"Come here," she said, cupping his face gently.

She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. Usually he was the one initiating first contact, but this one was all her. Damon could tell this was about her reestablishing the fact that she cared about him and she - as strange as it was - trusted him.

Just like Rebecca wasn't used to intimacy, Damon wasn't used to people just giving and expecting nothing in return. But that was what Rebecca was doing. Giving and not taking. Not counting the people he compelled, no one had just given him comfort and even if they had wanted to, he probably wouldn't have accepted it. Not really.

But Rebecca was making this kiss about him, making it about reassuring him of the fact that she was here and not going anywhere. It was about taking care of him. It was something he wasn't used to and it made him feel a little vulnerable, which was another thing he wasn't used to.

What he was getting used to, however, was the feeling of not being in control when she was around. God, it was like before she'd left. Like he'd reverted back to that, and that wasn't good. He needed to be in control and on top of things.

But he'd already come to the conclusion that he wouldn't just give her up, so there was nothing else for him to do but try and learn to accept what she was offering. Taking care of the people she cared about was who Rebecca was, so he'd have to learn to let her take care of him.

His canines extended and he pulled away, again cursing his newfound emotions, but didn't turn his face away, not like he had so many years ago; he'd learned then that she didn't care that the vampire part of him erupted unexpectedly sometimes. Granted, he'd had it under control before he'd gotten with Rebecca, and he'd get it under control again once he got used to feeling.  
\----------  
Rebecca was annoyed. Vicki was hyper and talkative. She literally wouldn't shut up. She was dancing around, too. What was wrong with her?

"Damon, did you give her something else? Something other than your blood?"

"Nope."

"Well . . . How come it doesn't make me do that?"

"Because you're not a drug addict."

"Oh."

"I am so over Tyler, so over him!" Vicki exclaimed. "I knew all along I was just a piece of ass to him, but I thought if he got to know me better he might see something more." Vicki fell to the floor happily and began rolling around. Rebecca covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "Now Jeremy, on the other hand, that's all he's ever seen in me is more, and I like that!"

"Jeremy?" Damon said. "Elena's brother?"

"Yeah!" Vickie hopped up off the floor. "Yeah. So Elena used to date my brother, and they were always together, so Jeremy would always be hanging around and crushing on me and - hey, why don't you have a girlfriend? You're like totally cool and so hot."

Oh, that's where Damon got his ego from, Rebecca thought.

Damon answered with a sarcastic 'I know' and Rebecca rolled her eyes. But then she noticed he was looking at her, and nobody else would've noticed it, but she could see the question in his eyes. He wanted to know what she would say about the girlfriend thing. What, did he think she only wanted him in private, that she didn't want anyone to know about them? If she didn't want anyone to know she was with him, she wouldn't be with him, period. She wouldn't treat him like that.

"Uh, his girlfriend's right here," Rebecca said, semi-territorially.

And that's when the real partying began. Damon could make Rebecca have fun even on the most depressing day ever. Rebecca began dancing around with Damon and Vicki, and she didn't even mind when Damon danced with Vicki because that was just Damon. Since both Damon and Vicki had made themselves comfortable, Rebecca felt she should do the same, so she removed her jeans - Damon's shirt came halfway down her thighs anyway.

"You're gonna have to help me come up with an excuse for why I'm missing so much school," Rebecca told Damon as she circled around him. "Something that doesn't involve me being here dancing around half-naked."

"Yeah, I don't think your dad would appreciate that."

Rebecca shook her head and watched as Vicki made her way upstairs; danced up the stairs was more like it.

"Do you care if she goes up there?"

"It's not like there're skeletons in the closet."

"Right."

"Come on, you guys, you can't make me party alone!" Vicki yelled from the top of the stairs.

One second Vicki was dancing, her upstairs with them downstairs, and then the next Vicki must've moved the wrong way because she was tumbling down the stairs.

"Vicki, no!" Rebecca said, flashing forward. She didn't have vampire speed, however, and the resounding crack as Vicki hit the floor made Rebecca stop moving.

Rebecca closed her eyes, clenched her jaw, and sighed. Vicki had broken her neck. She was dead and she had vampire blood in her system.

"Damn it," she muttered.

She felt a small jolt of sympathy for Jeremy and Matt, but other than that all she felt was grief for the human life that had been lost. Yes, she would come back as a vampire, but Vicki wasn't the most stable person to begin with; it would take a while for her to adjust to her new life - unlife?

She felt Damon put his hands on her arms to move her away and she looked up at him, confused.

"She's gonna wake up soon," he exclaimed.

"It took you all night to wake up."

"I didn't have as much blood in my system so it took me longer."

"Oh." Rebecca's mind went blank all of a sudden. "What do we do? I mean, she doesn't know you're a vampire, right? She's not gonna know what's happening to her."

Damon shrugged and she could see him flip the switch off that let his feelings show. "She'll remember and we'll explain what happened."

"And she'll believe us, of course. She'll think she's going nuts." She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "Does it help? The switch thing . . . It's easier for you?"

"Yes," he answered honestly.

"Right. Well, imagine if you couldn't do that. And that's how I feel right now. Everything I've had to do since I became a Slayer . . . Killing vampires, watching people die, and then letting people die, and now Vicki . . . That's all stuff that I have to feel because I don't have the luxury of shutting it off."

She didn't touch him, not when he was like this because she didn't know how he'd respond to it.

"Now I get it if you have to close yourself off to what just happened. If it helps you function and be rational, then by all means do what you have to do to take care of this, but please don't shut me out, because I can't do this alone, okay?"  
\----------  
Damon looked from the dead girl on the floor - she'd been reckless and had paid the price - back to Rebecca. She was pleading for him to not keep her out. It made her feel alone when he did that. But . . . That was just him; that was how he'd learned to be.

As a vampire, he had two choices. Open himself up to feel everything magnified or shut himself off, keep everything out, and sometimes he just had to do that. To make it easier for himself.

But it's not just about you now, the voice in his head said, and as usual he told it to shut up and go away.

"I will take care of this, okay?" He tried not to be completely closed off. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

Rebecca put her hands on her hips and huffed. "I think what I just said proved that I don't want to leave."

"Well, then . . . You're just gonna have to accept that this is how I deal with things."

"Maybe you need a better way of dealing with things then!"

Whatever he was going to say to that was forgotten because Vicki was now waking up. Like Rebecca had said, Vicki wouldn't know what was happening to her. She would soon remember, but until then they couldn't help her.

Since Damon now knew that Rebecca just wanted to be included he was sort of okay, though he was still a little not-okay with her being around Vicki right now. Rebecca wasn't even at a regular human's strength; if he didn't stay right with her Vicki could unwittingly hurt her.

"Don't leave my sight," Damon ordered; he smirked when Rebecca glared. "What, you expect me to say please?"

"It'd be nice," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Vicki sat up and looked around, grabbing her neck. It probably just felt like she'd slept on it wrong. If she only knew . . .

"Uh . . . What happened?" she grimaced.

"You died," he said bluntly, and Rebecca's glare turned to a look of disbelief. She gave him a 'what the hell are you doing' look. He just looked back; he knew what he was doing.

"What?"

"You're dead."

"I'm dead."

Damon remembered how disorienting waking up after dying was and he didn't feel sorry for her exactly, but . . . He could relate to what she was feeling.

"Yeah, let's not make a big deal out of it. You drank my blood, you died, and now you have to feed in order to complete the process."

"Damon!" Rebecca mumbled loud enough for only him to hear. "Stop it!"

"You're wasted," Vicki said, standing up.

"You don't wanna be out there all alone," Damon said.

Vicki picked up her pants and then started stumbling around putting them on. Damon flashed in front of her.

"You're about to get really freaky."

Vicki looked behind her to where Damon had been standing before and to where he was now but she didn't mention it. She probably thought she was seeing things.

"Look, I had a really good time, but I just wanna go home."

"You're gonna start craving blood, and until you get it, you're gonna feel very out of it. You need to be careful."

Vicki wasn't listening. "Come on, move."

"See, you're already startin' to fall apart."

"And I'm going home now."

"Okay, fine. I'm just warning you."

"Yeah, whatever." Vickie began walking toward the front door.

"Vicki, you can't just leave," Rebecca said. She'd obviously seen that Damon's way wasn't working. "The sun is going to make you very uncomfortable now. And you shouldn't be alone right now. You're gonna -"

Damon placed a hand over her mouth and smirked when she began mumbling, trying to talk anyway.

"Actually, you know what? You should go," Damon said. "In fact, if I were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house."

Rebecca's eyes widened and she grabbed his hand to try and remove it from over her mouth; he was stronger than her today so she failed. She needed to chill; nothing was going to happen - not yet anyway. Vicki wouldn't know what she had to do until around nightfall anyway.

"Whatever, bye."

"Tell Elena I said hi," Damon said. "And if you see Stefan, tell him to call me."

He yanked his hand away when Rebecca tried to sink her teeth into his flesh.

"Vicki, you can't go to Jeremy's!" she exclaimed. "You could hurt him."

"Oh, let her go. She's fine for a while," Damon said, grabbing her wrist.

"No, I have to follow her. I have to -"

"You're not going after her," Damon said, squeezing tighter to ensure she couldn't move.

"But -"

"You're not going after her."

Rebecca could tell if she hadn't been wearing her necklace she probably would've been under his control then.

"But she could hurt him, Damon! She'll start looking at his neck and smelling his blood and craving it, and she's not gonna know why. She's just gonna know she wants it and she's not gonna be able to stop."

"That won't happen for a while. Besides, Stefan will be there; he won't let her hurt him."

Rebecca tried to yank her hand back but Damon locked his fingers and didn't let her budge.

"Let me go!" She tried to pry his fingers open.

"No," Damon said, glaring. "Look, if you go after her, you could get hurt."

"This isn't about me; this is about helping her adjust to what's gonna happen to her!" Again she tried to yank away. That approach obviously wasn't going to work. "Look, she's not like you, Damon. You knew, she doesn't. She's gonna freak out and -" She broke off when Damon let her go only to grab her shoulders to make her look at him.

"Okay, I can't say this any clearer. If you try to leave, I will rip that necklace off and make you stay."

He was glaring down at her; she glared right back at him. She did cover her necklace with her hand, though, not that it would do any good if he really wanted to take it off. And why was he being like this?

He was being an over controlling jerk. And she kind of hated it. She didn't like people telling her what to do anyway, but she'd been around enough controlling men to know she didn't want one.

Then something occurred to her that hadn't before. "Do you want Jeremy to get hurt? Because I slept with him?"

His hands tightened on her arms and his cheek twitched in irritation. She tried not to wince from the pressure from his fingers but she failed.

"Slept in the same bed as him," she corrected herself. "Is that why you sent Vicki over there?"

Damon released his grip and turned away from her. She'd obviously hit a nerve. She realized now that he wasn't trying to be over controlling; he was just jealous. She didn't really like that either because that meant he didn't trust her.

"Damon! He's like a brother to me. A kid brother. I slept in the same bed as him because I was upset last night. I couldn't sleep in Elena's room because she was pissed at me, and I didn't want to be alone! How many more times do I have to say I wouldn't do that to you? Or . . . Anyone. I don't treat people that way. And I think that after everything that's happened, I deserve for you to trust me a little. At least enough for you to know that I won't hurt you."

Really, she got that it was hard for him, but she still wanted him to trust her. She had earned it, hadn't she? She'd let him back into her life - she'd had to take it on faith that he wouldn't hurt her; she'd invited him in even though she hadn't known if he would kill her family or not; she'd let him feed on Caroline; she'd let him into every part of her life and he wouldn't even trust that she was loyal to him.

"I mean, I give you the benefit of the doubt; can't you do the same for me? At least unless I prove I don't deserve it?"

Damon turned back to her and she saw his expression was no longer hard or cold. It was actually a weird expression, like he was struggling with something. He moved toward her and, since she couldn't tell what kind of mood he was in, her defenses went up.

When he touched her, though, he was gentle, not like he had been before when they'd been arguing. He rested his forehead against hers and his breath hit her face in shallow huffs. He grabbed her arms again, but it didn't hurt, not this time.

"I'm . . . trying, Becca," he said, and she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was being honest. "Just don't give up on me, okay? Give me time."

"You can take as much time as you need, okay? And I'm not gonna give up on you. I promise. But you're gonna have to give a little. I understand why you do the things you do; now you're going to have to try to understand why I have to do the things I do."

Damon shook his head. "Oh, I understand. You love Jeremy; you don't want him getting hurt."

Damon was speaking sarcastically and it was pissing her off again. Jeremy was her friend, damn it!

"Damon! What did I just say about understanding -"

"I understand, but you're still not going."

"Why not?"

Apparently Damon was done talking because he looked angry again. "Because you almost died yesterday, Rebecca. You don't have your strength and you won't be able to defend yourself if she turns. I can't be there to protect you because I don't have my ring."

Rebecca opened her mouth to say something, but she found she couldn't. What was there to say? He'd pretty much covered it all with that one small speech. And now she realized that most of Damon's bad mood had come from being worried about her. Yes, there was jealousy too - and she'd need to talk to him about that again later when they were both calmer - but most of it was his need to protect her. When she hadn't accepted it right away, he'd gotten angry.

Rebecca sighed. "Fine, but as soon as the sun goes down we have to find her. Okay?"

"Okay, agreed."

"Thank you."

It took a while to get there but, if they would both give a little, they could work together and do it well.


	22. Chapter Eighteen

Rebecca stayed at the boardinghouse with Damon since she'd agreed to and she wasn't a liar by design. In the middle of the day she got a text from her dad wondering where she was. She ignored it and cut her phone off.

What had happened earlier, plus everything that had happened the day before caught up with her and she had to chill for a while. She needed rest.

"You were right. Going after Vicki on my own would've been bad."

"I usually am right," Damon said, smirking. Then more seriously, "How're you feeling?"

"Just tired." And shaky and erratic, she added silently.

Then, to her embarrassment, her stomach growled. Even she heard it, so she knew Damon could.

"And hungry," Damon said, amused. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Uh . . . Two days ago?" She grimaced. "I've been a little preoccupied."

"We have food. What d'you want?"

"You can cook?"

"Yes."

"Um . . . Okay. Well, I don't know. Surprise me. Just nothing with blood in it." She grinned at him and he smirked again.

"Funny. Wait here. Rest."

"I can't even move to get a book?" she teased.

"Mm, I don't know. It's just fraught with peril." He reached over and ruffled her hair and she scowled at him and tried putting her hair back in place. "Go find you one you want. You can have it if you want it."

She smiled softly. "Why would I take it with me? I'm probably going to be over here a lot more than I'm gonna be at my house." Then she backtracked. "Uh . . . if that's okay."

Damon saw her uncertainty flash in her eyes and he realized he was obviously doing something wrong if she couldn't tell that he wanted her with him, if she couldn't tell she didn't need to ask to come over. She was welcome whenever she wanted to be here.

"If you want to be here, you can be here. Day or night, okay? Now I'm going to go fix you something before you pass out."

Even when he was in the kitchen he could still hear her heartbeat; he'd always been very attuned to it.

He wanted to fix her something more substantial but the quickest way for her to get her strength back up was to get the nutrients she needed so he fixed her a fruit salad with a sweet creamy dipping sauce. Apples, strawberries, grapes and sliced bananas. Besides, he knew she liked fruit anyway, so it wouldn't matter to her that that's what he had fixed her. He'd cook for her some other time when she didn't have so much to think about.

When Damon went back into the living room with the food he saw that Rebecca was laying on the couch looking better than any woman had a right to. Yes, her color was a little off because of the attack the day before, but, other than that, she was fine. Her body would've allowed her to be on the cover of a swimsuit magazine, and the fact that she was still in his shirt - and only his shirt - made it hard for him to concentrate.

She was leaning on the arm of the couch reading, like she'd said she was going to do.

"What'd you pick?" he asked.

"Call of the Wild, Jack -"

"London," Damon finished for her. He watched as she marked her spot with her finger. "That's one of my favorite books."

"Hm." She sat up straighter to give him room to sit. "We had to read the Cliff Notes in English once; I never got around to actually reading the book until now.

Damon handed her the salad. "Here, eat."

Since Rebecca had been talking about school it hit Damon how young she really was, how hard it would be for her. She didn't have a future, not really. It had been taken from her. Her choices had been made for her. She wouldn't be able to go to college or have a job or any of that. She wouldn't be able to have anything normal at all.

Not that she seemed to mind at all - she was spending the majority of her time with a vampire.  
\----------  
By the time night had fallen, Rebecca had eaten twice and had taken a nap once. Damon and Rebecca went to Elena's thinking that was probably where both Stefan and Vicki were. Rebecca knew Damon was more interested in finding his ring and his phone than he was in finding Vicki, but finding Vicki would help him find his stuff, so . . . Ergo . . .

When they reached the two story white house Damon handed her the keys and she looked at him, confused.

"I want you to stay here. I'll be faster on foot and since you're still not at one hundred percent . . ."

"Okay." She grinned when Damon furrowed his brow in disbelief. "What? We had this conversation earlier and if I disagreed we'd just argue again. We have bigger fish to fry."

"Hm. At least you've gotten your priorities straightened out."

Rebecca slipped the keys into her pocket when she stepped out of the car and then they walked up to the front door. Rebecca knocked and they waited. She could already sense that Stefan wasn't there, which meant that Vicki wasn't there.

When Elena opened the door she tried closing it again. Jeremy was behind her and he looked at her like she was insane, but he listened when she told him to go upstairs. Rebecca could tell Elena wasn't only frightened; she was also pissed. Probably at both Damon and Rebecca, but mostly Damon, who was standing there, the perfect picture of indifference and nonchalance.

"You're afraid of me," Damon said, amused.

Rebecca internally groaned. Here we go again.

"Stay away from me," Elena seethed.

"Hey, hey, hey. There's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan. May I come in?" Damon pretended to wait, but then, "Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited."

Elena backed away as Damon went in and Rebecca muttered 'be nice' loud enough for only him to hear before she followed him in.

"Look, we can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda."

Rebecca wanted to say he wasn't going to kill any of her friends if he knew what was good for him, but she let that lay for the time being.

Damon glared at Elena defiantly, and Rebecca had to be impressed that Elena glared back. Impressed because Damon was intimidating and Rebecca wasn't sure that she could do it if she weren't the Slayer.

"Now, where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki," Elena said, hatred lacing her voice.

Damon pretty much just rolled his eyes at her. "Don't look at me with those judge-y little eyes. The girl's gonna thank me for what I did."

Rebecca looked at Damon sharply. What was he doing? He hadn't really done anything, really. It had been an accident, right? So why was he saying all that? It wasn't his fault or anyone else's; it had just happened.

Damon had moved forward and Elena was trapped between him and the wall. Rebecca knew from experience that that wasn't a good place to be, but Elena was holding her own.

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena asked, glaring up at him.

Rebecca moved closer because she wasn't sure how Damon would react to that. She didn't know how Damon felt about the Katherine situation now. She knew Damon hadn't wanted to turn even though Elena probably didn't. Stefan wouldn't have incriminated himself by admitting what he'd done.

Rebecca was relieved when all Damon did was look at Elena, and he didn't even look angry; though sometimes he was good at hiding things like that.

"Hm." Damon turned away and his face was expressionless. "Got the whole life story?"

"I got enough."

"Oh, I doubt that," Damon said, closing himself off now. "Anyway, tell Stefan I'm looking for him."

Rebecca watched as Damon went out the door, but then he came back in smirking. "Oh, for future reference, be careful who you invite in the house."

Then he was really gone.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked softly.

Elena shook her head. "What's wrong with you? He's . . . something's wrong with him. He's dangerous and unstable and he threatened me!"

"No, he didn't. But, yes, he is dangerous." She stepped forward. "Look, I don't want to fight with you, okay? I'll explain whatever you want me to explain. All you have to do is ask."

Elena shivered a little and Rebecca could see that Damon had affected her more than she'd let on. Elena led Rebecca to the kitchen, though, and she began to make some coffee.

"Okay." Elena sat at the table and Rebecca followed suit. "How long have you known? About Stefan and Damon?"

"A few days after school started."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Rebecca scoffed, but was gentle when she spoke. "Would you have believed me if I had told you that Stefan needed to drink blood to survive? That's he's been around since the late 1800s?"

Elena shut her eyes and looked down. "Why did Damon tell you the truth when Stefan couldn't tell me?"

Rebecca could tell that Elena was worried about Stefan not trusting her just like Rebecca was worried about Damon not trusting her.

"Uh . . . Elena, have you talked to Stefan about anything?"

"I spent the day with him. He explained some things."

"Okay, well, why don't you tell me what he told you and then I'll fill in the blanks. Okay?"

Elena looked up at her and Rebecca could tell she was wondering if she even wanted to know, if she could deal if she knew.

"He told me that Katherine could control his mind . . . And Damon's."

"Yes. She made them, compelled them, to love her like she wanted them to." Rebecca swallowed nervously. "Did he tell you about me?"

It suddenly occurred to Rebecca that she didn't know exactly how much Stefan knew about her, how much Damon had let Stefan in on that. She knew Stefan had to know she was a Slayer - he was a vampire, part of him would be able to sense that - but how much did he know about Slayers? And how much of the past had Stefan told Elena about and how much was Rebecca part of it?

"He knows that you love Damon."

"Yes, but did he tell you why?"

"No."

"Okay, uh . . . I know that you already have a lot on your plate, so if at any time you want me to shut up, I will." She looked Elena right in the eyes. "I was there."

"What?" Elena obviously hadn't expected that.

"Um . . . I read a spell out loud. And I realize that sounds really cheesy and unrealistic, but I was reading from a spell book and I woke up in 1864. I met their father - ugh! Horrible, horrible person. I staked a vampire in front of him and, since he knew about vampires, he invited me to stay with him. That's when I saw Stefan. Imagine my surprise because I'd met him here in my time period first."

Rebecca paid close attention to Elena's face to make sure she wasn't going to go into shock. She was also absentmindedly listening to make sure Jeremy stayed upstairs. As a Slayer she had advanced hearing - not vampire hearing, but it was still more advanced than Elena's or any other human's.

"Damon didn't get there for a while so I got to know Stefan a little. Uh . . . Once Damon got there I hung out with both of them. Damon and I -"

"You loved him when he was human," Elena interrupted, apparently having a revelation. "That's why . . . That's why you let him get away with a lot of stuff."

Rebecca looked at her hands, debating. She'd never really thought of it that way.

"Um . . . Okay . . . I did love him when he was human, but I accept him the way he is now, too. He still has some good in him, Elena, he just has to find it again. And I wanna help him do that. But I don't . . . love-love him now. I'm still getting to know whoever is now, but I am in very deep like with him."

"But he's . . . a . . . murderer."

Rebecca flinched. "So am I. Are you gonna toss me out on my butt too?"

"You kill vampires, that's not the same thing."

"Yes, it is. I'm still ending someone's life. It's exactly the same thing. I even like it, Elena. It's wrong and I tell myself I shouldn't like it, but it doesn't change the fact that I enjoy it a little. I'm even good at it."

"You . . . get off on it?" Elena asked cautiously, inching away.

Rebecca laughed a little. "Wouldn't go that far. And I don't hurt innocent people, so you can relax. You and Jeremy are safe. Anyway . . . Back to the past. Questions? Comments?"

"Did Damon love you?"

"He never said it, but we were very close, yes. We had an instant connection. He was very good to me. Until Katherine came." Rebecca couldn't help that her voice was bitter. She'd learned to hate Katherine.

"And Damon left you," Elena assumed and Rebecca became infuriated.

"He didn't leave me. She took him, compelled him to forget about me. I didn't know it at first . . . I just thought he'd lost interest, and I was willing to let her have him if she was what he wanted. I wanted him happy even if that happiness didn't involve me. When I found out about the compulsion I confronted her, but it didn't help. She wouldn't leave him alone. She was doing the same to Stefan.

"She compelled Stefan to drink from her, but, because Damon thought he loved her, Damon did it willingly. They died with her blood in their system, so they . . . had to choose."

Rebecca bit her lip, wondering if she should edit this part. It wasn't really her story to tell, so yeah, she should, she guessed.

"Um . . . When you're in transition the smell of blood will cause you to lose control. Uh, something happened and I got hurt. I was bleeding badly and Damon couldn't help it. Stefan had . . . Um, he'd bitten me - he couldn't help it either, I guess."

"Stefan turned with your blood?"

"No. Damon turned with my blood. Stefan had already turned when he . . . Anyway, Damon stopped before he killed me, obviously, and he healed me. That's one of the reasons Damon doesn't get along with Stefan; he hurt me."

The rest of the reason was Damon's story to tell if he chose to.

"Did Damon ever do his mind control thing with you?"

Rebecca was going to say no, but then she remembered he had. "Once. But that was only because I'd hurt my shoulder really badly and he had to check to see if it was broken. He didn't want me to feel the pain when he did it."

Elena looked on in disbelief.

"I told you, he doesn't hurt me on purpose, no matter what else he does."

"Uh, yesterday!" Elena's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe Rebecca could just get over that little fact.

"He was starving!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Which is your boyfriend's fault, by the way!"

Elena looked away from her and then Rebecca watched her shoulders slump. Elena was exhausted, she could tell.

"Can I get you something? Um . . . Tea, coffee, chocolate, ice cream? Um . . . Or sleep, if you want."

"No, we have to wait. Stefan's supposed to call when he finds Vicki."

"Oh." Rebecca bit her tongue so she wouldn't spill about how exactly what had happened wasn't Damon's fault. Vicki had died by accident with his blood in her system but she hadn't been killed.

"Um . . . What're you gonna do about Jeremy?" Rebecca got up when the coffee stopped brewing and poured herself a cup. She fixed Elena one too; Elena's was easy - she liked her coffee black. "If Vicki comes here he will invite her in and if she chooses to turn that means she can come over whenever she wants."

"One problem at a time, Rebecca, please. I can't even . . . think about that right now. Okay?"

"Okay. Just . . . I love you guys and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Elena nodded and stood up with her coffee. "I'm gonna go outside. I need to be alone right now."

"Uh . . . Okay . . ." Rebecca stood up and grabbed Elena's shoulders. "You just found out there are vampires in Mystic Falls and you're gonna go outside at night and sit on the porch swing?"

"Yes. I'm not gonna stop living my life because of this. Now, please, I just . . . I need to be alone so I can think."

Rebecca nodded and let her go, reluctantly. She would feel if a vampire came by and she'd hopefully be able to respond quickly enough to help. Besides, Elena was right. She couldn't put her life on pause just because she knew the big secret now.  
\----------  
Damon had been tracking Stefan for thirty minutes. He could tell Stefan had been tracking Vicki. There was no trail of corpses to follow so he assumed Vicki hadn't turned. He ended up at the old cemetery and when he stopped he was able to hear a gunshot. Because he was a vampire it sounded closer than it actually was, but it gave him a direction to head in.

What he found was an upset Vicki - she was obviously remembering things now - a hurt Stefan, and an annoying human. Logan Fell, some news guy. He had a gun in one hand, a stake in the other. Stefan had been shot and was getting ready to be staked.

So he knows, Damon thought, and that just automatically leads to killing.

Damon expertly ripped the guy's throat out and then casually went about getting the bullet out of Stefan's chest. He couldn't have his brother dying; who else was he going to make miserable for the rest of eternity?

He ignored Stefan's groan of pain - it was Stefan's own fault for not indulging once in a while. He'd heal faster if he drank human blood.

Once the bullet was out Damon felt like groaning himself.

"It's wood. They know." Then, "If anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me."

Damon got his ring back from Stefan, who seemed very reluctant to give it to him. He got his phone back too, but that was after Vicki fed from Logan. The guy had been bleeding; Vicki couldn't help it.

"Oops."

Damon didn't really care. He had what he wanted. His phone, his ring, and Rebecca. So he left Stefan there and took off, but not before he found the Gilbert compass. What had Logan Fell been doing with it?

He had one voicemail from Rebecca, one from Caroline - what was she calling him for? - and then a few texts from Rebecca. He read the texts first because he saw that Stefan had obviously pretended to be him through the phone.

Hey, something's come up. I have to leave, don't know when I'll be back.

That had been Sunday morning, two days after the Founder's party. They way the text was written made it sound like he was giving her the brush-off. That pissed Damon off because he wouldn't just do that - or not with Rebecca anyway. If something came up and he had to leave, he never would've just taken off, not with her. He would've told her face-to-face that he had to leave and, hell, he'd have offered her the chance to go with him. They both would've enjoyed the ride.

Her text to him after that had been: Are you okay? Or do you need help?

And Stefan hadn't even answered back. What must Rebecca have thought of that? Him just not even responding. He needed to give Stefan a major ass-kicking because that just wasn't the way one treated a woman like Rebecca.

Ignoring her, telling her I was just leaving without a word, Damon thought moodily. Probably made her feel about an inch tall.

Her other text was about Caroline: Did you compel Caroline to forget, because the other day she was freaking out and now it's like she can't even remember it happened. It's creepy.

Then for the voice messages. He deleted Caroline's, not caring enough to hear what she had to say. Rebecca's, on the other hand . . .

"Okay . . . Look . . . I'm not good at this, so . . . Uh . . . Are you okay? Because I know you and you wouldn't just ignore me if you didn't have a reason. So . . . Whatever it is . . . If I made you angry or uncomfortable then I apologize. But you need to tell me what I did because I'll probably do it again very often if I don't know that it bugs you. Anyway, call me when you can. I wanna know you're okay."

Damon glared at the phone as if it was to blame. How dare Stefan make her think it was her fault, make her feel like an insecure little girl. Mm . . . how much more damage had his dear brother caused? Rebecca had definitely looked like she'd been through a lot when she'd come to him the day before.

If Stefan had done that to her - even if he'd done it unintentionally - Damon was going to become very anti-social, because until that night Damon had been fairly nice to Elena; Stefan couldn't pay him the same respect with Rebecca?  
\----------  
At Elena's, Rebecca had left Elena alone like she'd wanted Rebecca to. But that meant that since Jeremy was the only other person there at the moment that she was once again curled up beside Jeremy in his bed. Granted, this time she was comforting him. He'd been with Vicki that day and he was worried because she'd been on something and wasn't coming down. She'd been hungry and couldn't get full and her gums had been hurting, throbbing. They'd gotten her upstairs and she'd been fine for a while, but then she'd freaked out.

"She even had this super PCP strength," Jeremy said. "I don't know what's wrong with her. There was this thing on TV about a drug deal gone bad at that old cemetery. We were there last night."

"Drug deal? Were you . . ."

"No," Jeremy said defensively. "We were just partying."

"You got stoned in a cemetery?" Rebecca couldn't stop the small grin that pulled at her lips. "How disrespectful."

She began rubbing his back in small soothing circles when he didn't respond. She knew he was really worried about Vicki, and she couldn't tell him what was really going on.

"Come on. You need to sleep. We will find her and help her. Or she'll find you when she's ready, okay? But you won't be able to help anyone if you're falling down with exhaustion."

Jeeze, shouldn't Elena be up here doing this? Rebecca thought. But then again he probably wouldn't have accepted this from Elena. Sometimes Rebecca wondered if Jeremy blamed Elena for their parents' deaths.

"Okay," he mumbled, already shoving his head onto the pillow. Rebecca was stunned by how young and vulnerable he looked. It made her heart hurt because she knew he wouldn't be seeing Vicki for a while - or at all if the girl didn't turn.

She got up to leave him to it, but he grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him, confused. "What?"

"Will you stay until I fall asleep? Please?"

Rebecca swallowed back the throat burning sensation of unshed tears and sat back down. "Sure, Jer."

She smoothed the hair back from his face and began rubbing his back again. She knew he didn't let Elena or Jenna do this for him; he probably didn't even let Vicki.

"This is gonna sound really strange, but having you around right now makes me feel safe," Jeremy said softly. "It's almost like having my mom back."

Rebecca smiled softly, fondly, even through the tears. "In this scenario I am your mother? I can't just be your long lost sister from another family?"

Jeremy didn't speak, but he did smile tiredly. She leaned down and kissed his forehead much like his mom must've done when he'd been younger. She stayed with him until his grip on her wrist loosened, until he'd fallen asleep.

Then she got on his computer and brought up the local newspaper website. She wanted to know what Jeremy had been talking about - the drug deal thing - because Damon had bitten Vicki, and Vicki had been at the cemetery so that meant Damon had been at the cemetery. And that meant that whatever cover-up the town was going with was . . . Whatever Damon had done.

Damon doesn't want you to know. Don't look.

Rebecca thought about it and realized that actually Damon probably wouldn't care if she knew - he had just told her not to feel guilty because he had done it, not her. But she had to know what he'd done because it would bother her until she knew.

Three people had been killed and burned - though the article said it had been an accident. Damon had had to try and cover his tracks. He wouldn't have had to be so sloppy if Stefan hadn't locked him up, damn it! And now . . . Now, assuming the Council was out in full force, they knew there was at least one vampire in town.

She looked at Jeremy and said a small prayer of thanks that he at least hadn't gotten hurt; he'd obviously left before Damon had gotten to the cemetery.

Rebecca could feel that Damon was outside now, probably waiting for her, and he was with his brother. Maybe they hadn't come together but they had shown up at the same time. Rebecca sighed, cleaned the computer's history so Jeremy wouldn't know she'd been on it, and then looked at Jeremy to make sure he was still asleep. The covers were drawn up to his chin and his hands were tucked underneath.

She went to the window, opened it, climbed out and closed it back. She was now on the ledge that was between the first and second floors of the Gilbert house. She stepped off the edge and landed easily in a crouch so as not to hurt herself.

Stefan and Damon hadn't budged, though they both were watching her. Elena, who was still on the porch, had looked stunned for a second but then had turned her attention back to Stefan. Stefan, who was bleeding - Rebecca was concerned because she hadn't done it this time. What exactly had happened?

She subtly brushed her hand against Damon's when she reached his side - she noticed he had his ring back - and he looked at her. She gestured to Stefan with her head and he shook his head. She was a little surprised she hadn't had to ask if he'd done it; he'd just known from the simple gesture she'd given.

That was . . . pretty awesome, actually.

"I couldn't stop her," Stefan said. "I tried."

Rebecca's shoulders slumped even though she'd sort of had a feeling Vicki would turn. Now . . . Now they'd have to help her, teach her, if Vicki would let them.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked. She was new to all this, she didn't know.

"It means she's a vampire now, Elena," Rebecca said gently.

"She fed. And I lost her."

"Why didn't one of you follow her?" Rebecca asked. "She's going to be hungry and she's not going to know to get out of the sun before morning."

"Well then, problem solved," Damon quipped.

"Uh, not funny." Rebecca glared without any real malice. "One: Ow! And two: Someone could see. Trust me, a girl spontaneously bursting into flames will rate very high on the six o'clock news."

"Well, I'll take care of it," Stefan said. "I will find her and teach her how to live like I do. I'll make sure that she doesn't hurt anybody. I promise."

"What do I tell my brother and - and Matt?" Elena asked, beginning to freak out.

"We'll come up with a story."

"You mean we'll come up with a lie," Elena corrected.

"Well . . . Actually, if she'll let us help her," Rebecca began, "she could go back to being somewhat normal within a few weeks. Uh, Jeremy wouldn't have to know anything unless Vicki told him."

"No. I don't want him involved in this," Elena said firmly.

"He lives in the same house as you do. He's gonna get involved one way or another," Damon said seriously. "The longer you keep it from him the more danger he's gonna be in."

"I don't want him involved with this," Elena repeated. "He's just a kid."

"Uh . . . Okay," Rebecca said. "Well, if she shows up here, don't invite her in. If she shows up and Jeremy invites her in because he doesn't know what she is -" Rebecca was hinting at the fact that Elena shouldn't keep Jeremy in the dark "- don't bleed in front of her. And don't make her angry, don't threaten her. Don't do anything that could be considered antagonistic. She's new and volatile. She could snap over the least little thing."

"Well . . . You're not staying?" Elena asked.

"I have to go home. I haven't been there for two days. And my phone's been off today, so my dad's probably freaking out. It's an argument waiting to happen, but I need to go get that over with so I can deal with this."

"You are gonna stay at home and sleep," Damon said, taking her arm and beginning to lead her to the car.

"Uh, hey!" She yelled bye over her shoulder to Elena and then followed along willingly enough. "Damon, you don't have to drag me everywhere, you know. All you had to say was 'I'd like to leave, please.' You'd have gotten the same result."

He opened the door for her and she got in. Damon wasn't in the best of moods for some reason so she was silent. She'd wait for him to speak. If she asked, he'd probably just be sarcastic about it anyway.

Once he parked at the end of her street he took out a very familiar compass. Where had he gotten it? He couldn't have stolen it; she'd been in Jeremy's room when Damon had gotten to Elena's house.

"Logan Fell had this," Damon said. "He found Stefan with it."

Rebecca's shoulders tensed because she knew that meant Logan was dead now. Damon wouldn't have let him live, not since Logan had known. And, since he'd been a Fell, he would've run back to tell the Council.

"Logan used to go out with Jenna, uh, Elena's aunt. That's probably how he got it."

"Hm." Rebecca noticed that Damon looked uncertain. It unnerved her a little. "Okay," he sighed and rolled his eyes, "there's this thing, so I'm just gonna say it. And don't make me repeat it. What Stefan did . . . to make you think I left, and the message you sent . . ."

Rebecca grimaced internally. She'd left that before she'd figured out that he wasn't gone. She watched his fingers curl tightly around the wheel and she could tell he wasn't used to doing this, explaining what he was feeling. She waited patiently for him to continue. She knew if she said anything he might not finish.

"I didn't like that you sounded that way," he said tightly. "That he made you feel that way, made you think it was me making you feel that way."

He looked at her now and his blue eyes were unexpectedly gentle and so . . . human. It made her breathing hitch. He swallowed vulnerably and her eyes glanced at his throat, which she felt a fleeting desire to kiss and lavish affection upon. Then she focused on his eyes again.

"Look, I know I can be an ass, okay? But I would never just ignore you. Trust me, I hear everything you say even if I don't always respond the way you want me to. I don't want you to feel that way in relation to me, ever.

"I can't promise to always do the right thing and I definitely can't promise to say the right thing -" Rebecca grinned because, wasn't that the truth? "- but you will never be ignored when I'm around. One could say I'm obsessively observant of everything you do."  
\----------  
Damon couldn't believe what he was doing. He was baring his heart to this beautiful girl beside him. It hadn't set well with him, hearing her voice be all small and insecure. That wasn't who she was. It also hadn't set well with him that he could make her feel that way. That meant he had too much power over her and that wasn't healthy.

As he'd talked he'd kept a check on her expression - if he'd seen any sign of amusement, he would've stopped talking immediately. He would've flipped the switch and shut her out completely. He wouldn't have been able to take it if he'd opened himself up to her and then she'd made fun of him for it. He would've snapped and someone would've gotten hurt.

He'd seen hesitation on her face when he'd mentioned the message and he wondered if she regretted leaving it. But other than that she hadn't commented at all; she'd just listened, just let him speak, let him say what he'd needed to say - or needed her to hear him say - without making him feel like he couldn't. Or shouldn't.

It made him remember how easy it had been to be himself around her when he'd been human, how natural it had been for them to be close, be together. It . . . terrified him yet made him feel a little safer at the same time.

Damon Salvatore, terrified of a seventeen-year-old girl, he thought wryly. What has the world come to?

He was surprised when Rebecca cupped his cheek and then pressed her lips to his, softly. It was short and chaste, but he could feel the love behind it. It was pure and almost innocent, Rebecca's love at that moment, and Damon didn't know how to respond to it.

Damon had had many people touch him in his very long life, but mostly it had been out of anger or lust. It had been to cause pain or to take pleasure from his body; it had never been to comfort or love him.

He found himself wanting it, her love, more than anything in the world at that moment, but his conflicting emotions couldn't settle on whether he should pull her closer or push her away. It wasn't in Damon's nature anymore, just to accept good things - there was always a catch. When good things came along he just waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Becca . . ." he whispered and then clenched his jaw to shut himself up.

"Shh." Her thumb caressed over his skin and he fought back a shiver. Damon Salvatore did not shiver from a girl's touch. He didn't shiver, period. "I know. That was very difficult for you."

"Mm." Understatement of the century; he knew because he'd been there.

She kissed him again with the same love she had before and he wanted to melt into it, but she pulled away - now he felt like pouting like a child; he wanted it back.

"Thank you," she said, stroking his face once more before removing her hand. "For letting me in a little."

He wanted to tell her it wasn't a problem but it was for him, and he didn't know when he'd be able to do it again.

Rebecca sighed and he looked at her; he realized she was procrastinating, putting off the inevitable.

"Okay, well . . . I guess I gotta go. But, assuming I still have my phone, I will call you in the morning. And I'll come help with Vicki after school. Uh, if it's safe."

"Yeah, okay." Damon bit his cheek but then figured - what the hell? - he'd already said worse, so, "And Becca? You're welcome."

She smiled a little wider than she had in a while so Damon figured it was well worth it.


	23. Chapter Nineteen

Rebecca's heart was racing when she reached her front door. She felt so . . . confused. She was scared of what her dad's reaction was going to be since she hadn't been home for about two days, but she was also happy that Damon had shown her he still had the part of himself that could talk to her even if he didn't let it show like he had when he'd been human.

As soon as Rebecca opened the door she was jerked inside. Her dad, of course, though she understood this time. She deserved his wrath now. But he had grabbed where Damon had gripped too tightly earlier that same day - he'd maybe left bruises? - and she winced.

"Where the hell have you been?" he yelled, sort of - Rebecca noticed his voice was rough and strained. "We've called everywhere for you. Your phone was off."

Rebecca looked at her aunt, who was silently fuming. Her face was red from anger and her eyes had a fire in them that Rebecca had never seen before. Her aunt Tina had never been this angry. Rebecca knew she probably wouldn't say anything since Tina wouldn't think it was her place, but the fact that Rebecca had caused Tina to become this way bothered her.

"I - I can't talk about it," Rebecca muttered, going past her dad. "I'm going to bed.

"Oh no. No, no, no," her dad said. "I am your father and you will explain yourself now."

Rebecca was thankful that Chelsea was already in her crib, probably fast asleep, because this was going to be a big blowout, it seemed.

"Dad?" Rebecca didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell the truth; it definitely wouldn't go well.

"Who were you with? That is a man's shirt and it's not mine. You disappeared yesterday, sent a cryptic message . . . You didn't go to school; you've been missing a lot lately. Now you come in wearing a man's shirt, you look like death. What is going on?"

Rebecca heard the genuine concern her dad was expressing and she didn't know what to do with it. It had been so long since anything had touched her father in any way that it stuck her dumb for an instant.

"Is it drugs?" her dad asked. "What're you on and where are you getting it from? It's Jeremy, isn't it?"

"Dad, I'm not on drugs. I was at Elena's last night, I slept there. I was there today, too. Call and ask if you don't believe me. And -" a sudden inspiration hit her "- I haven't been going to school because I've decided I want to graduate early."

That made both her dad and her aunt stop and go blank for a second.

"All I have to do is talk to the principal and take a test to prove I can pass it and then I get my diploma. It's what I want."

"Uh . . . Why?" her aunt asked, speaking for the first time since Rebecca had gotten home.

"Because I want to be able to focus on other things than school. There are more important things!"

"Like boys?" her dad asked steely. "Like that . . . Damon?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. What, did he expect her to be alone forever?

"I like Damon, yes, but he has nothing to do with this decision. Okay? I made this decision on my own."

Her dad took on a suspicious and worried expression. "You're not . . . pregnant, are you?"

Rebecca laughed a little, though there was no humor in it. "No. I promise. I'm not doing anything bad and I'm not gonna get in trouble. I just . . . have a lot to deal with right now, and I have to do it on my own."

"Well, I just don't accept that," her dad said, regaining his angry focus. "What was so important that you couldn't have called to let us know you were okay or that you weren't going to school?"

Rebecca bit her lip, conflicted. She wanted to tell them the truth - she was fairly certain her dad already knew about vampires, anyway - but she didn't want to have to explain everything. And her aunt would freak out worse than she already was. Only instead of being angry, she would probably want to cart Rebecca off to the nearest psych ward.

Rebecca had never bothered to care what her dad thought of her, but she cared now. She cared because she was going through some very strange stuff and she was doing things that were making him doubt her.

"Um . . ." What was so important? "Saving the world from vampires?" She'd said it as a joke just to see what their reaction would be.

Tina glared, obviously not appreciating the humor. Her dad, however, just blinked and looked on suspiciously.

"Go to you room, Rebecca," he said softly. "We'll talk about it later."

Rebecca did as he asked but was silently fuming about him dismissing her like a child. Yes, taken out of context she guessed her actions could be construed at childish - maybe - but the truth was she had more to deal with than either of the adults in this house could ever understand.

1) Vampire boyfriend - which was his problem as much as it was hers - liked to eat her and had almost killed her unintentionally.

2) Said vampire boyfriend sometimes had to kill people and he may or may not like it when he did it - she was undecided on that.

3) Elena was pissed at her for keeping her in the dark, but then she went and did the same thing to Jeremy - hypocrite.

4) Her dad was beginning to not trust her, though hopefully he might understand now.

5) Vicki. New vampire. Biggest problem of all because different people took to vampirism in different ways. Case in point: Stefan and Damon.

6) Oh yeah, she was a Slayer, which meant she was the only human strong enough to stop all this crap.

Add to that list making sure her family and friends didn't die, her brain began hurting.  
\----------  
The next morning came and Rebecca found herself not in school again, though this time her dad had called the principal and had made the arrangements for her to graduate early like she'd wanted. She had a month to prepare for the test; if she failed she could make everything up in summer school.

Her dad had woken her up in time so they wouldn't have to deal with her aunt's wrath. They had gotten in her dad's Mustang and he'd driven them to the police station.

"Uh . . ." She unbuckled her seatbelt. "What're we doing here?"

He ignored her question by asking one of his own. "Were you being serious last night? About what you were doing? Because . . ." Her dad smiled bitterly and Rebecca was reminded of how she herself felt. "That would explain a lot."

Rebecca just looked at him and he just looked away. So now he knew.

"I never wanted you involved in this," he said, looking back at her and she was surprised to find his eyes were shining. "How did you find out?"

"Um . . . When Vicki Donovan was bitten. The bite marks, an animal couldn't have done that. If anybody else in this town had half a brain, they would know too."

"H - How much do you know?"

"Vervain. Stake to the heart, fire, sun, beheading."

"Okay then." The bitterness left her dad's face. "I just . . . I'm thrown by this. Everything you've been doing makes sense now. You . . . What do you do?"

"I fight them. I don't know if you've ever heard of it before but I'm a Vampire Slayer. I - I'm human -" she thought she should point that out since she was near a Council member; the Council was pro-human only "- I just . . . In every generation a Slayer is chosen. One born with the strength and skill to stop the vampires. There's more, but it's really dull, so . . . Just know that I've been training and I know what I'm doing."

Her father was just staring at the steering wheel and biting his lip in thought.

"I wanna help, Dad. The Council, I know what you guys do, and I want in. Okay?"

He looked at her and he'd never looked so wrecked before. Or so old and tired. Rebecca's heart lurched in sympathy even though she'd spent so much time in the past eight months basically hating this man.

"We always assumed you were a myth . . . That the Slayer was a myth."

"Nope," she said softly. "I'm real."

"Have you ever staked a vampire?"

"Yes," she said honestly. "At least six. Not all of them were here. Some were in Richmond."

"At a warehouse?" her dad asked suspiciously. "That was you?"

"Uh . . ." How'd he know? "Yeah."

"The Council was called in on that. The two vampires . . . were hard to explain."

"Yeah, I didn't have time to clean up after myself. The security alarm went off. I had seven minutes to get the hell out of there."

"Language," her dad scolded her.

"Uh . . . I tell you I fight vampires and you get after me for saying the word 'hell'?"

"Right." He laughed a few times. "Um . . . That is kind of redundant."

Rebecca smiled and she felt . . . okay for the first time in a while - aside from the times when she was around Damon. She and her dad were having an actual conversation that didn't involve one of them getting angry at the other. They were bonding, sort of, she guessed.

"Are you being careful?"

"What?"

"With the slaying?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I've got it covered."

"Okay." He sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. "We're here to talk to the Sheriff. She'll tell the Lockwoods and the Fells and Zach. Okay?"

Rebecca nodded and tried to keep her expression clear. Zach was dead and so was Logan Fell. Of course the other Fells would be in on it, too, but still . . .

"Okay, let's get this over with."  
\----------  
Elizabeth Forbes was a forty-something year-old woman and Rebecca could tell she honestly did care about most of the people in Mystic Falls. The only problem was she'd been brought up to think all vampires were evil, no questions asked. To her they weren't people; they were just things, evil things that needed to be taken out.

Rebecca let her dad do most of the talking unless the Sheriff asked her a question directly. Her dad never mentioned the fact that she was a Slayer. Needless to say, she was happy when the interview - or whatever - was over. Finally she could leave. Her dad let her have the car because he had other things to attend to; he still wanted her to call and let him know if she was going to be late. That hadn't changed any.

Once out on the front steps of the station she took out her phone and sat down. She found Damon's number on her contacts list and texted him to see if he could talk - he might've been doing something and didn't want to be disturbed.

"Becca? What're you doin' here?" a very familiar voice said from behind her. Jeremy sat beside her and she saw he looked worried.

"I'm here with my dad. He had to talk to the Sheriff. Why are you here?"

"Vicki. A search party."

"Oh, uh -" her phone rang "- hold that thought." She flipped her phone open. "Yeah?"

"Yeah? How is 'yeah' any better than 'what'?" Damon's voice came over the line.

"It's better because I said it."

Rebecca felt something in her break, but it was a good break; it was amazing how much better she felt just from hearing his voice.

"Right."

"Uh-huh. So . . . Did you take care of that thing you were supposed to take care of?" She hated speaking in code, but, since Jeremy was right there beside her, she kind of had to.

"She's here. Hungry, but she's here. She's . . . okay, though."

"Oh. So it's safe for me to be there?" She grimaced when she saw Jeremy's eyebrows shoot up.

"I thought you were at school."

"I quit," she said, grinning, wondering what Damon's reaction would be.

"You what?"

The incredulity in his voice made her laugh out loud. She had a feeling that Damon didn't get shocked by much so that she could draw that reaction out of him was amazing.

"Well, I sort of quit. I'm taking a test so I can graduate early. Focus my energy elsewhere."

"On me?" She could just imagine him doing his eye thing then even though she couldn't see it. "Sounds potentially . . . fun."

"Those were your words, not mine. Anyway, I'll be there shortly. Bye."

"Mm-hm."

After that conversation was over she turned back to Jeremy, who was looking at her weird.

"What?"

"You're graduating early?"

"I'm gonna try."

"Why?"

"I'm . . . I hate school."

"Uh-huh. And where is it you were wondering if it was safe for you to be?"

Jeremy could be very protective when he wanted to be. She wondered how Jeremy would react if he knew Elena was dating a vampire and she was with a homicidal maniac vampire.

"Oh . . . Uh, a friend is going through something and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get my head bitten off if I went to visit."

Jeremy grinned. "Nice friend."

She laughed; it was bordering on hysterical. "I know, right. Anyway, did you need a ride? I actually have the car today."

"No, I'm gonna catch a ride with one of the others."

"Okay, well . . . I gotta go, but I'll see you later." She hugged him briefly and said, "I hope Vicki's okay, Jer."

"Thanks."  
\----------  
Damon heard a car pull up outside the boardinghouse. He knew it was either Rebecca or Elena, and seeing as to how Rebecca had said she was coming over, smart money was on her.

He, Stefan and Vicki were in the library, but Damon left them to it so he could greet Rebecca. She'd said his name and he knew if he didn't go to her she'd start searching. It would've taken her a while to find them with the size of the house.

When he saw her he noticed her color was back to normal and she looked like she felt better, stronger.

"Hello, Rebecca," he said and smirked when her eyes lit up at the sound of his voice. Well, that was interesting and flattering.

"Hey, how's Vicki?"

"Hungry," he quipped. "She's acting more or less the way she did yesterday."

"Oh." She bit her lip almost nervously. "You didn't answer my question on the phone whether it was safe or not for me to be here."

"You don't see me shoving you out the door, do you?"

She scoffed and shook her head. "Smartass."

Damon smirked and shrugged indifferently. He knew he was a smartass; he also knew she didn't really care.

"You know, not everybody can act like you do and get away with it."

"Well, not everybody is as attractive and fun-loving as I am."

"Right." She bit her lip again to stop the laughter from flowing out. "Glad you think so highly of yourself."

"Mm-hm" He held his hand out and he was still surprised when she accepted it so quickly. "The newbie's this way." Then, getting serious now, "You know if I see fangs, I'm playing dentist."

"Uh, agreed. Getting bitten twice in one week, not really a fantasy of mine."

Damon stopped walking when he noticed her pace decreasing, and he looked at her. She seemed nervous.

"What?"

She sighed and met his eyes. "I told my dad about me. And I talked to the Sheriff this morning. She's going to talk to the Mayor and they're going to see what they can do about getting me on the Council."

"Okay . . ." Why was she nervous about that?

"I . . . needed to know where they stood with the three partiers from two days ago. I needed to know if they had any suspects and they don't right now. I was just making sure they didn't suspect you."

"So they know you're the Slayer now?" That couldn't possibly end well.

"My dad does. Uh, I think my aunt would flip, so she doesn't know. Nobody else knows either; I didn't feel comfortable advertising my less than normal abilities to people who freak out over abnormal things."

So she had taken it upon herself to help him again. He didn't know how she did it, because like she'd pointed out the day before, she didn't have a switch that would make it easier for her to carry on. Every emotion she had, she didn't have the choice to not feel it. It was becoming harder for him to flip that switch, actually, so he could semi-relate.

The point was that Rebecca had too much on her plate already and her taking care of him in her own way was just adding to it.

"Why're you telling me?" Did she need help or something?

"Because I didn't want you to find out from someone else. You're a very important part of my life and that means I should be able to let you into every part of my life." She smiled a little. "Besides, if I hadn't told you, you would've wondered why when you did find out."

Before he realized what he was doing he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He wasn't so good at expressing himself out loud, but he had to let her know in some way what her doing this meant to him.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear, and straightened up.

The smile she gave him could've brightened up the room they were in had she been connected to a power grid.

"You're very welcome, Damon."

Instead of making him dwell on how easy it was to be himself without the switch, around her, she grasped his hand again and requested he now lead her to Vicki.  
\----------  
"I don't get it. Why do I have to stay cooped up here? Why can't I just go home?"

That was the first thing Rebecca heard when she walked into the library/study room. How many libraries did this house have anyway?

The furniture was old-fashioned - they needed to update - but comfortable enough, she guessed. Damon sat at a desk and picked up a newspaper. Stefan and Vicki were on the other side of the room - Stefan on a chair and Vicki on a sofa.

"Because you're changing, Vicki, and that's not something you wanna do alone," Stefan answered with forced patience.

"Also sunlight," Rebecca said. "It's not your friend."

"Hurts like a bitch," Damon added. "But you're welcome to try walking out the front door."

Rebecca mostly ignored that remark and rolled her eyes. She leaned back against the wall and watched Vicki. She looked like she could burst out of her skin - Rebecca wasn't sure if that was from boredom, restlessness, or hunger. Either way it was potentially problematic and dangerous.

"There's nothing about that Logan guy I killed in here," Damon said way too casually for Rebecca's liking, but she didn't mention it. "Not a word. Someone's coverin' it up."

Damon began twirling the compass he'd stolen - re-stolen? - from Logan in his hand, and Rebecca felt like snatching it away. It was like he was ADD or something - seriously, he couldn't sit still without messing with something. Maybe she should think of inventing Vampire Ritalin.

"What is that?" Vicki asked.

"A very old, very special compass," Damon said. "It tracks vampires."

"Well, if you're worried, why don't you leave?" Stefan asked.

"Uh, I object to that," Rebecca said, raising her hand a little.

"Besides, we should all be worried," Damon said.

Seeing as to how Stefan had been the one to get hurt the night before, Rebecca thought he should know that.

"Hey, I'm hungry; do you have anything to eat?" Vicki asked.

"Yeah, here," Stefan said, handing her a mug.

Vicki was new and Stefan was giving her only enough blood to fill half of a coffee cup? And it was probably animal blood, right? Wouldn't that make it harder to control her thirst? Because that couldn't really satiate her hunger - it wasn't really what she wanted or needed.

"What is it?" Vicki asked, turning her nose up at it.

Rebecca hid her grin at Vicki's obvious distaste by looking down.

"Yeah, Stefan. What is it? Skunk? St. Bernard? Bambi?" Damon taunted, but Stefan pretty much ignored him.

Rebecca, however, had a very disturbing picture of a mauled Bambi etched in her brain now. For some reason that even she couldn't fathom, the thought of animals being drained of blood bothered her more than the humans Damon had sucked dry. Not for the first time, she realized something was seriously wrong with her.

"It's what you're craving," Stefan said.

"Hm. Don't lie to the girl. It's so not what you're craving," Damon said. "But it'll do in a pinch, right, Stef? She's new. She needs people blood. She can't sustain on that stuff."

"Mm. Yeah, why can't I have people blood?" Vicki asked.

Rebecca found herself holding back laughter again. She was sure the Slayer thing had driven her a little insane because the scene before her should not have been funny; she knew that. Maybe it was the unreality of it all - maybe it still hadn't sunk in that all this stuff was real.

No, that can't be it. I've almost died a few times in the past month alone. It's real, I know it.

"Because it's wrong to prey on innocent people, Vicki," Stefan said.

"You don't have to kill to feed," Damon said. "Just find someone really tasty and erase their memories afterward. It's so easy."

Oh, that's why she was laughing - the beautiful blue-eyed man was there and she usually felt joy whenever she was in his presence - barring when he was starved, of course; that had been joyless.

"No, there's no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes years to learn that. You could easily kill somebody, and you'd have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which if I haven't been clear, is eternity."

"Don't listen to him. He walks on a moral plane that is way out of our eye-line. I say snatch, eat, erase."

It was like watching a ping-pong match - Rebecca kept having to look from one brother to the other.

"Hey, look at me. We choose our own path," Stefan said. "Our values and our actions, they define who we are."

"You know . . . I don't remember you being this speechy," Rebecca said, not unkindly. "And you can shove that 'freedom of choice' speech. You and I both know you were never good at that." Okay, that last part had been a little bitter, but . . . Now that she'd said it she felt better. Though Stefan did look up at her with impatience burning in his eyes. She wasn't helping any. "Okay, okay, I'll be quiet now. Jeeze."

"Anyway, I'm outta here," Damon said, getting up and walking out.

Well, wait. He wasn't gonna leave her with the lunatic and the new vampire, was he? Granted, she'd been all for forgiving Stefan until he'd locked Damon up; she'd been willing to start anew until then. Was she supposed to follow Damon? Was that what he wanted her to do? Sometimes she couldn't tell with him. And she was torn, anyway. There was a small tug in her chest that was telling her to go after Damon, but there was another part that knew she needed to stay at the boardinghouse with Vicki. Vicki was stuck there, and listening to Stefan talk was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Vicki might want to talk to someone who wouldn't put her down every time she said she wanted human blood.

What was with Stefan anyway? Why did he pretend that human blood wasn't really what he wanted? Was he in denial about the vampire thing? Because really, he'd had 145 years to come to terms with that.

"Uh . . . Elena's here," Stefan said. "Stay with Vicki?"

His eyes were careful now; he knew he had no right to ask her for anything.

"Sure."

Once Stefan was out the door she went to sit by Vicki. She was on her guard, of course, because she wasn't a complete idiot and she was a human and that's what Vicki was craving right now. Vicki as a human had been used to giving into temptation, so it was going to make it harder to help her.

"I saw Jeremy earlier," she said. "He was worried about you."

Vicki didn't respond; she was busy cleaning the cup she'd had with her finger. Rebecca wondered why it didn't gross her out; not Vicki, but herself.

Maybe because you've had blood in your mouth yourself, she thought wryly.

"Can I have some more?" Vicki asked.

"Uh, I'll ask Stefan when he gets back." She took the cup from Vicki and put it on the table. "How bad is it?"

"What?"

"The hunger?"

"Oh. I hurt," Vicki said. "My head, my stomach, everything's just . . . I don't know."

"Magnified? Like what you felt before is a thousand times worse now?"

Vicki nodded but didn't speak. Rebecca just felt bad for her. She hadn't wanted this; she hadn't even known what was happening until the last minute.

"Can you hear them?"

"Hear who?"

"Stefan and Elena," Rebecca said, feeling like she was suddenly talking to someone who was mentally handicapped.

"No, it's all mixed together."

"Oh, well, I can help you with that."

Vicki looked at her expectantly.

"Close your eyes and try to find their voices. Once you hear them, focus, and you'll know what they're saying."

Vicki did as she asked and Rebecca smiled a little. She wondered if there were any other Slayers in the history of Slayers that had been sympathetic to vampires.

"They're talking about me," Vicki said. "Jeremy's a part of a search party for me."

Vicki stood up and when Rebecca saw she was leaving the room she followed Vicki. Vicki made her way downstairs where Stefan and Elena were; Stefan was saying something about keeping Vicki there until she was safe.

"How long is that?" Vicki asked impatiently.

Stefan and Elena turned to Vicki and Rebecca. Stefan looked at Rebecca with suppressed irritation.

"What?" Rebecca asked. "You told me to stay with her and here we are."

"How long?" Vicki repeated.

"We can talk about that later," Stefan said.

Rebecca locked eyes with Elena now and she could tell Elena felt bad for Vicki just as Rebecca did.

"Hey, Vicki, how are you?" Elena's voice was genuinely compassionate and sympathetic.

"How am I? You're kidding, right?" Vicki seemed to be bitterly amused. "I woke up dead. How do you think I am?"

Rebecca gently took Vicki's arm into her hand and began leading her to the other two.

"No, she needs to stay up there," Stefan said, his brooding forehead beginning to work overtime.

"No, she needs to be around humans so she can get used to it. She will never learn to resist if she doesn't practice." Rebecca knew Stefan was worried about Elena's safety, so she didn't roll her eyes at Stefan's obvious disapproval. "We will be right here, Stefan. Nothing's gonna happen."

Stefan gave in reluctantly probably because he knew Rebecca was right. It didn't stop him from looking worried, though.

"We can talk in the dining room. I'll make some coffee."

"Coffee?" Elena asked.

"Caffeine is our friend,' Stefan explained, looking at Vicki now. "It circulates through our veins and it warms our bodies, so we're not so cold to the touch."

They made it to the dining room and Elena sat at the table. Rebecca sat between her and Vicki - just in case - while Stefan went to make coffee.

"What're you doing here?" Elena asked Rebecca curiously.

Rebecca told her the graduating early story and, just like Jeremy had, she wondered why.

"I have too much on my plate as it is; school isn't something I need to be worrying about."

"Sorry," Elena said sincerely.

Rebecca smiled softly. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"We've been friends for too long for me to let this get in the way. I still don't understand most of it, but . . . No I'm not mad. I'm sorry that you have so much responsibility that's been thrown on you."

Me too, Rebecca thought.


End file.
